will give rise to a cause of action die in diem (day in and out) and postpones the
running of time.
The right of action is the right to bring a specific case to a Court or tribunal. It is an
enforceable right. That right is dependent on whether as of the date the action is
brought to court, all the necessary facts are available and any pre-requisite legal or
factual situations have been satisfied. See Valentine Ayika Vs. Republic of Liberia
2011 CCJELR pg. 236 para 10.
The right of action finds it basis on the cause of action. A right of action accrues
once an actionable wrong occurs. However, where the wrongful act is continuous,
the right of action subsists until the wrongful act terminates.
In SERAP V. FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ECW/CCJ/JUD/18/12,
UNREPORTED this Court found that the Plaintiff’s subjection to the statute of
limitation depends on the characterization of the act as an isolated act or a persistent
and continuous omission that lasted until the date the complaint was filed with the
Court and that in situations of continued illicit behavior, the statute of limitation only
begins to run from the time when such unlawful conduct or omission ceases.
In the case of Ouko V Kenya communication No. 232/1999 (2000) AHRLR 135, the
question was whether the political persecution and subsequent flight of the applicant
into exile violated the provisions of the African Charter. The African commission
held that persecution suffered by a union leader constituted a breach not only of the
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