Why do South Africans generally seem so distrustful, fearful, and paranoid of one another? When ANC leaders or supporters do something Helen Zille does not like, she is quick to claim that it is all part of an ANC plot. When someone criticises the appointment of the CEO of the SABC, the MK War veterans claim the CEO is [...]
Posts under ‘Rule of Law’
Medical Miracles (ad infinitum)
Schabir Shaik, who was convicted of bribing President Jacob Zuma and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for bribing our President, was unlawfully released from prison on 3 March 2009 on medical parole “to die a dignified death” because he was supposedly in the last stages of a terminal illness. Mr Shaik has now been a [...]
Ruling elite not interested in democracy or the Rule of Law?
When EP Thompson, the Marxist historian considered by many to be the greatest British historian of his time, wrote that the Rule of Law was “an unqualified human good”, he created quite a stir. It was an article of faith among Marxists that the law was always used by the ruling class to legitimise its [...]
Our own Minister Ras Dumisani
Reading Minister Jeff Radebe statement in which he takes a stab at defending the indefensible “appointment” of Adv Menzi Simelane as National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), I wondered whether the statement was not perhaps drafted by Ras Dumisani after partaking in the holy weed. Unfortunately the Minister’s defense is misleading in the extreme, does [...]
Why Menzi Simelane is a liar
One should not easily call a person a liar. One should especially not call somebody a liar if the President of the country has purported to appoint that person as the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and has endorsed that person as fit and proper, thus as possessing the necessary honesty, reliability, truthfulness [...]
Neither fit nor proper
President Jacob Zuma has a wide – but not unlimited – discretion to appoint the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP). By purporting to appoint Adv Menzi Simelane as NDPP, President Zuma acted unlawfully because Simelane clearly does not meet the requirements for the job as stipulated by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Act.
The Constitution [...]
On Julius Malema, HIV and democracy
I must admit it made a welcome change: Instead of cringing with embarrassment, I sat at the traffic light and gave a little cheer when I heard on the radio what ANC Youth League President Julius Malema had said about HIV/AIDS. Speaking at the Pan African Youth Union, Malema said it is up to Africa’s youth to stop [...]
If we start killing our own people we all lose
Politicians seldom admit to the existence of, or even embrace, complexity. Admitting that problems are complex (whether one is in government or sitting on the opposition benches) confuses people and can create a perception of indecision or even weakness (just ask Public Enterprises Minister, Barbara Hogan), so politicians often opt for easy sound bites (Julius, are you [...]
“The Beast”, the Rule of Law and petty politics
I am in a bit of a fix: I often complain bitterly about the tendency of officials and politicians to ignore the clear provisions of the Constitution or relevant legislation to achieve politically expedient goals. On this Blog I have ranted about the unlawful release of Schabir Shaik, the probably unlawful firing of Vusi Pikoli, the failure of the [...]
Zuma spy tapes: will anyone be prosecuted?
My daily newspaper reports this morning that the investigation into how the NIA’s top secret ‘spy tapes’ got into the hands of President Jacob Zuma’s lawyer, Michael Hulley – which led to the (probably unlawful) scrapping of criminal charges against Zuma and ultimately to a change in government – has been completed.
The Inspector-General of Intelligence, [...]
