{"id":101826,"date":"2025-10-28T19:07:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T17:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=101826"},"modified":"2025-10-28T19:08:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T17:08:36","slug":"albanese-served-unauthorized-court-papers-during-south-africa-visit-dojcd-issues-apology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/albanese-served-unauthorized-court-papers-during-south-africa-visit-dojcd-issues-apology\/","title":{"rendered":"Albanese served unauthorized court papers during South Africa visit, DOJ&CD issues apology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read<\/em>
\n28 October 2025 | 18:20 CAT<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf8UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese was served unauthorized court papers during her visit to South Africa, prompting a formal DOJ&CD apology.<\/p><\/div>\n

A major procedural lapse in the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD) has drawn international attention after UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese was mistakenly served with court papers while in South Africa.<\/p>\n

The incident occurred during Albanese\u2019s participation in events hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, where she was addressing human rights issues in the Palestinian territories. DOJ&CD officials have since confirmed that the legal action was unauthorized.<\/p>\n

Terrence Manase, the department\u2019s spokesperson, explained the sequence of events in an interview with Radio Islam International<\/em>:<\/a> \u201cWe were not in the country when this information reached us. It emerged that an official issued a letter without approval, resulting in a sheriff serving Ms. Albanese. This action was taken without the knowledge of either the minister or the Director General, who are the only authorities empowered to approve such service under Section 40, Subsection 2 of the Superior Court Act.\u201d<\/p>\n

The department moved swiftly to rectify the situation. Manase added that the minister had instructed for the irregular service to be withdrawn immediately and extended an \u201cunconditional apology\u201d to Ms. Albanese, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and the United Nations.<\/p>\n

Questions remain over the content of the court papers, which are yet to be clarified. Observers say the timing of the service, during high-profile events, has raised serious concerns over the DOJCD\u2019s adherence to legal protocols.<\/p>\n

Regarding accountability, Manase confirmed that internal disciplinary procedures are underway. \u201cThe minister has instructed the acting Director General to oversee consequence management, and she will personally join the process when she returns to the country. It is still early, but appropriate measures are being considered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The incident has sparked wider criticism over the department\u2019s handling of sensitive legal matters, particularly those involving international representatives. Experts stress that such errors undermine both domestic credibility and diplomatic relations.<\/p>\n

The DOJ&CD has pledged to provide updates as the investigation progresses. Meanwhile, Albanese\u2019s visit continues to focus on human rights advocacy and highlighting conditions in the Palestinian territories, drawing local and international attention.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up<\/em><\/a> with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Terrence Manase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 28 October 2025 | 18:20 CAT A major procedural lapse in the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD) has drawn international attention after UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese was mistakenly served with court papers while in South Africa. The incident occurred during Albanese\u2019s participation in events hosted by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":101827,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995,4997],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa","category-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Francesca-Albanese.jpg?fit=1599%2C1066&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qum","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-17 21:53:22","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}