Status of Fired USAID Staff

 The Hill published on 22 July 2026 a commentary titled "The Dismantling of USAID and the Firing of Its Staff Was Illegal" by J. Brian Atwood and Kevin E. Burns.

The Trump administration has violated the Civil Service Reform Act of 1883, updated in 1978, by firing most USAID personnel without offering an opportunity for due process.

The Merit Systems Protection Board ruled that the president can remove career officials without due process.  Fired USAID employees are appealing this decision through the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Zambia Gags Documentary Critical of Chinese Investment

 The Committee to Protect Journalists posted on 6 June 2025 a press release titled "Zambia Court Blocks Film Investigating Chinese Businesses."  

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Zambia sued a privately-owned news outlet and obtained a gag order from the Lusaka High Court to prevent airing of a documentary titled "Chinese investment in Zambia: the good, the bad, and the dangerous."  The Chinese Chamber of Commerce said the documentary disparages and demeans Chinese investment in Zambia.    

Rebuilding Somalia's Broken Justice System

 The Mogadishu-based Heritage Institute for Policy Studies published in January 2021 a study titled "Rebuilding Somalia's Broken Justice System: Fixing the Politics, Policies and Procedures."

The study suggests Somalia's federal and state leaders need to agree on an inclusive and independent Judicial Services Commission and Constitutional Court.

Somali Terrorist Becomes Key US Informant

The New York Times published on 27 January 2017 a story titled "How Civilian Prosecution Gave the U.S. a Key Informant" by Adam Goldman and Benjamin Weiser.

This is the account of a Somali terrorist associated with al-Shabaab, Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, who was captured by the United States in international waters off Yemen and prosecuted in a federal court in Manhattan. He subsequently became a key informant who helped thwart terrorist attacks.

Judicial Reform in Kenya

Innovations for Successful Societies published in November 2015 a study titled "Transforming the Courts: Judicial Sector Reforms in Kenya, 2011-2015" by Maya Gainer.  It evaluates a far-reaching judicial reform program called the Judiciary Transformation Framework. 

South Sudan Dispute Resolution

The South Sudan Law Society (SSLS), a civil society organization based in Juba, published in March 2013 an extensive report titled "Challenges of Accountability: An Assessment of Dispute Resolution Processes in Rural South Sudan."  The author is David K. Deng.

The SSLS report concluded that South Sudan has not yet established a justice system that affords predictable and reliable legal protection for the poor and marginalized and meets the basic requirements for justice for its people.  To develop such a justice system, the government of South Sudan must overcome a number of challenges, including widespread impunity for inter-communal and politically motivated violence and pervasive injustices in the customary and statutory courts.