Kellelo Justina Mafoso-Guni (born December 8, 1945, in Hlotse, Basutoland) is a Mosotho lawyer, the first female lawyer in Lesotho, as well as a former justice of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and the High Court of Lesotho (where she was the first woman on the Court).[1]
Kellelo Justina Mafoso-Guni | |
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Justice on the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights | |
In office 2006–2010 | |
Justice in the High Court of Lesotho | |
In office ?–? | |
Crown Counsel in Lesotho | |
In office 1970–? | |
Personal details | |
Born | Hlotse, Basutoland (present-day Lesotho) | December 8, 1945
Education | University of Lesotho, University of Edinburgh |
Mafoso-Guni was born in Hlotse on December 8, 1945. She studied law at the University of Lesotho and the University of Edinburgh.[2] She became the first female lawyer in Lesotho.[3]
Mafoso-Guni was appointed Crown Counsel in Lesotho in 1970. She then moved to the United Kingdom and worked in the civil serve for twelve years.[2] She returned to Africa and was appointed magistrate in Zimbabwe on 28 September 1980, the first woman appointed to the bench.[2][4] She served there for twelve years.[2] Other sources have erroneously stated that Mavis Gibson was the first female judge in Zimbabwe's history.[5][6] While Gibson did serve as a judge in Zimbabwe, she was actually the High Court of Namibia's first female judge.[7]
Mafoso-Guni returned to Lesotho and was appointed to the High Court of Lesotho, again as the first female judge.[2][8] In 2006, she was elected as one of the first judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights for a four-year term,[2][8] one of two women alongside Sophia Akuffo.