Quote of the week
Mr Zuma is no ordinary litigant. He is the former President of the Republic, who remains a public figure and continues to wield significant political influence, while acting as an example to his supporters… He has a great deal of power to incite others to similarly defy court orders because his actions and any consequences, or lack thereof, are being closely observed by the public. If his conduct is met with impunity, he will do significant damage to the rule of law. As this Court noted in Mamabolo, “[n]o one familiar with our history can be unaware of the very special need to preserve the integrity of the rule of law”. Mr Zuma is subject to the laws of the Republic. No person enjoys exclusion or exemption from the sovereignty of our laws… It would be antithetical to the value of accountability if those who once held high office are not bound by the law.
Secretary of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State v Zuma and Others (CCT 52/21) [2021] ZACC 18
The courts can help to safeguard democracy. But if they are used to impose on the racial majority the will of a minority, majority politicians will resist and the independence of the courts will be destroyed. All of which explains why the court actions against the singing of a struggle song by African National Congress (ANC) Youth League leader Julius Malema are bad for democracy, the constitution — and minorities themselves. One reason why it is bad for democracy is that it may have enabled Malema to escape accounting to society. Those who tell him what to do knew a diversion was needed to draw attention away from his personal finances. The claim that the Pan Africanist Congress did not organise Sharpeville did not have the desired effect of rallying the ANC behind him and the song was no doubt seen — accurately — to be a more effective method. – Steven Friedman in Business Day
