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.
Should SA Rugby ban the old flag? I would say yes, they should because their image is at stake and waiving the flag at a rugby game somehow implicates all of us who watch the game in a yearning for apartheid.
Should the old flag be banned by Parliament? I would say absolutely NO, because that would suppress unpopular political speech, which can only be bad for democracy.
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