The Nigerian Law Reform Commission has recently published a Report on the Reform of the Evidence Act. This was in response to a government directive to “review and reform our Evidence Act to ensure that its application more effectively facilitates the dispensation of justice in our courts”. The Report notes that the Evidence Ordinance was based on Stephen's Digest of the Law of Evidence and on the common law of England as it was in 1943. Understandably, the Report recognizes that the law of evidence had become outdated, especially in view of technological advances. As it notes:

The new Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria came into force with effect from 29 May, 1999, the date of the military handover to a democratically elected civilian regime. The document is based on the 1979 presidential constitution with some amendments and provides that Nigeria shall be a Federation made up of 36 States and a federal Capital Territory.

The Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998, and its two amendment Acts passed in 1999 represent a major effort on the part of the South African authorities to combat the rapid growth in organized crime, money laundering and criminal gang activities both nationally and internationally. The Preamble to the 1998 Act provides a useful background. It states that because it is:

“usually very difficult to prove the direct involvement of organised crime leaders in particular cases, because they do not perform the actual criminal activities themselves, it is necessary to criminalise the management of, and related conduct in connection with enterprises which are involved in a pattern of racketeering activity.”

In Zimbabwe, the initials “POSB” are well known as the acronym for the Post Office Savings Bank. These initials also came to symbolize a major step towards the development of a more acceptable security law with the publication of the Public Order and Security Bill (POSB). According to the Memorandum accompanying the draft legislation, it would

The applicant, a distinguished public figure and former president of Zimbabwe, had been charged with a number of serious sexual offences, and the matter had attracted extensive coverage in the media. At the start of his trial it was argued that, as a consequence of the adverse pre-trial publicity to which he had been subjected, he would not receive a fair trial in accordance with section 18(2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 1979, and that, therefore, a permanent stay of proceedings should be ordered.