View source for Kellelo Justina Mafoso-Guni

{{short description|Mosotho lawyer}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name               = Kellelo Justina Mafoso-Guni
| office1            = Justice on the [[African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights]]
| term_start1        = 2006
| term_end1          = 2010
| office2            = Justice in the [[Politics_of_Lesotho#Judicial_branch|High Court of Lesotho]]
| term_start2        = ?
| term_end2          = ?
| office3            = [[Crown Counsel]] in Lesotho
| term_start3        = 1970
| term_end3          = ?
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1945|12|08}}
| birth_place        = [[Hlotse]], [[Basutoland]] (present-day [[Lesotho]])
| death_date         ={{death year|2024}}
| death_place        =
| education          = [[University of Lesotho]], [[University of Edinburgh]]
}}
'''Kellelo Justina Mafoso-Guni''' (December{{nbsp}}8, 1945{{snd}}June 5, 2024)<ref name=LENA2>[https://www.lena.gov.ls/justice-guni-laid-to-rest/  Lesotho News Agency, ''Justice Guni Laid to rest'', article dated June 21, 2024]</ref> was a [[Demographics of Lesotho|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 [[Politics_of_Lesotho#Judicial_branch|High Court of Lesotho]] (where she was the first woman on the Court).<ref name=LENA2 /><ref>[https://www.africanwomeninlaw.com/international-court-judges  African Women In Law website, ''African Women and International Courts'']</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pict-pcti.org/courts/ACHPR_judg_bio.html|title=ACHPR: African Court Of Human And Peoples' Rights|publisher=Project on International Courts and Tribunals|accessdate=7 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716142926/http://www.pict-pcti.org/courts/ACHPR_judg_bio.html|archive-date=16 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Early life and education==
Mafoso-Guni was born in Hlotse on December 8, 1945. She studied law at the [[University of Lesotho]] and the [[University of Edinburgh]].<ref name=profile>{{cite web|url=http://www.african-court.org/en/index.php/30-profiles-of-former-judges/109-profiles-of-former-judges|title=Profiles of Former Judges|publisher=African Court on Human and People's Rights}}</ref> She became the first female lawyer in Lesotho.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baetens |first=Freya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K5cMEAAAQBAJ |title=Identity and Diversity on the International Bench: Who is the Judge? |date=2020-12-10 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-264375-9 |language=en}}</ref>
==Career==
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.<ref name=profile/> She returned to Africa and was appointed [[magistrate]] in [[Zimbabwe]] on 28 September 1980, the first woman appointed to the bench.<ref name=profile/><ref name=independence>{{cite web|url=http://www.herald.co.zw/independence-supplement-independence-gave-justice-to-all/|title=Independence gave justice to all|date=18 April 2015|accessdate=14 September 2017|work=The Herald}}</ref> She served there for twelve years.<ref name=profile/> Other sources have erroneously stated that Mavis Gibson was the first female judge in Zimbabwe's history.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QuY_AQAAIAAJ|title=Legal Forum|date=1997|publisher=Legal Resources Foundation|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=znAvAQAAIAAJ|title=Independent Zimbabwe|date=1985|publisher=Department of Information, Government of Zimbabwe|language=en}}</ref> While Gibson did serve as a judge in Zimbabwe, she was actually the High Court of Namibia's first female judge.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QuY_AQAAIAAJ|title=Legal Forum|date=1997|publisher=Legal Resources Foundation|language=en}}</ref>
Mafoso-Guni returned to Lesotho and was appointed to the High Court of Lesotho, again as the first female judge.<ref name=profile/><ref name=black>{{cite book|page=54|title=Black Women and International Law: Deliberate Interactions, Movements and Actions|first=Jeremy I.|last=Levitt|year=2015|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781316298404|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=emwaCAAAQBAJ}}</ref> 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,<ref name=profile/><ref name=black/> one of two women alongside [[Sophia Akuffo]].
She died on June 5, 2024.<ref name=LENA2 /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Justice Guni mourned - ThePost |url=https://www.diaspora.thepost.co.ls/2024/06/24/justice-guni-mourned/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-12 |title=Judiciary Pays Tribute to First Female Judge |url=https://www.lena.gov.ls/judiciary-pays-tribute-to-first-female-judge/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Lesotho News Agency |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Publications==
* {{cite journal|first=Kelello|last=Guni|year=1990|title=The Problem of Baby-Dumping in Zimbabwe|publisher=University of Oslo, Institute of Women's Law|journal=Working Paper|volume=26}}
* {{cite book|title=Report on Parliamentarians Workshop held on 16th November, 1994 : Maseru Sun Cabanas|first=Kelello|last=Mafoso-Guni|year=1994|publisher=FIDA}}
==Judicial writings==
* Ntsapo Petlane (Born Makunya) v Mathe Petlane & Another (Duly assisted). CIV/APN/476/9825. August 1999
* R. Potoketsi v. Rex. CRI/A/22/98 . 15 February 1999
* African Oxygen Ltd v. Stm Marketing & Agencies Ltd & Another. CIV/APN/191/99, CIV/APN/270/99. 7 April 2000
* Ned Bank (Lesotho) Ltd v. Sotho Development Corporation (Pty) Ltd. CIV/T/450/99. 23 May 2000
* Rex v. Lisebo Mokhoro. CRI/T/39/96. 24 November 2000.
* Theresia Leoma v. Makhang Leoma. CIV/APN/465/99, CIV/APN/520/99. 8 August 2000
== See also ==
* [[List of first women lawyers and judges in Africa]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mafoso-Guni, Kellelo Justina}}
[[Category:Judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights]]
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:National University of Lesotho alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Lesotho judges]]
[[Category:21st-century women judges]]
[[Category:People from Leribe District]]
[[Category:Lesotho judges of international courts and tribunals]]