Book Review: Constitutional Adjudication in Africa

Of the francophone courts, Adjolohoun describes the Benin model as having the highest reputation among francophone jurisdictions, a remarkable achievement in view of Benin's initial troubled post-independence constitutional history. Since the transition to democracy in the 1990s, the court “has played a tremendous role in the progressive entrenchment of constitutionalism, constitutional democracy and respect for the rule of law”.2 The Benin success story is contrasted in an essay contributed by Fombad himself, analysing the failure of the constitutional adjudicative process in Cameroon, a state that was formed out of an uneasy marriage of francophone and anglophone legal traditions. Quashigah points to a number of decisions through which the Supreme Court reinforced the principles of the rule of law through the exercise of its power of judicial review. Since a constitutional amendment in 2012, the Constitutional Court, despite its name, has became an apex court of general jurisdiction. Fombad might also draw comfort from the decision of the Kenya Supreme Court in September 2017 to annul the result of the 2017 presidential election on grounds of electoral irregularity.12 Be that as it may, Fombad makes some valid and useful suggestions in relation to the future functioning of constitutional adjudication, including improving relevant judicial training and measures to ensure the accessibility of the adjudicatory body to all, especially to the poor and vulnerable in society.