WeeklySA_AdminVALUES: Persistent challenges — corruption, inequality, political factionalism, and governance deficits — continue to test the resilience of the country’s constitutional democracy…
By Ido Lekota
In 1994, South Africa emerged from decades of apartheid tyranny into a new democratic dispensation, a beacon of hope led by the late President Nelson Mandela — a global icon of reconciliation, justice and the rule of law.
Mandela’s leadership gave birth to a constitutional democracy designed to heal a divided nation, embodying values of fairness, accountability, and equality.
Now, three decades into its democratic journey, South Africa faces pivotal legal and governance challenges that test the resilience of Mandela’s constitutional project. Two high-profile matters—the asbestos tender case involving Moroadi Cholota and the policing controversies emerging in the Madlala Commission of Inquiry — serve as potent reminders of both the strength and fragility of South Africa’s democratic institutions.
Earlier this year Cholota, former personal assistant to former Free State Premier Ace Magashule, has found herself at the heart of a landmark constitutional confrontation. Cholota’s legal trials and tribulations were compounded earlier this year when the Free State High Court set her free from prosecution in a scandal involving a R255 million asbestos removal tender that was awarded under irregular and possibly corrupt circumstances.
In response the National Prosecuting Authority launched simultaneous appeals to both the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, aiming to overturn the Free State High Court’s ruling. Affirming the primacy of the rule of law over institutional overreach, protecting individuals, like Cholota, from unjustified prosecutions, the Constitutional Court dismissed the NPA appeal with costs.
More than anything, the Constitutional Court decision reaffirmed the essence of constitutional democracy Mandela championed: no one is above the law, and state organs must rigorously respect due process
However, Cholota’s case also exposes a significant lacuna in South Africa’s legal landscape: the absence of formal anti-SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) legislation. “SLAPP” tactics involve using costly or vexatious litigation as a weapon to silence public participation or dissent.
Currently, South African courts rely heavily on common law principles such as abuse of court process or vexatious litigation to mitigate SLAPPs. This creates uncertainty and inconsistency, often leaving defendants like Cholota vulnerable to protracted, expensive legal battles without clear legislative protection.
This legislative gap highlights the urgent need for law reform to offer explicit anti-SLAPP safeguards—thus preserving civic freedom, protecting whistleblowers, and ensuring the justice system is not weaponised to suppress transparency and accountability. Cholota’s case stands as a testament to the judiciary’s determination to uphold constitutional fairness, but also a call to Parliament to strengthen the legislative framework that protects democratic participation.
Parallel to the Cholota saga is the high-stakes inquiry unfolding under the stewardship of Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga. The Madlala Commission of Inquiry investigates systemic corruption and institutional capture within South Africa’s criminal justice system, specifically focusing on political interference in policing.
So far, a central issue spotlighted by the inquiry is the legality of former Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s decision to disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) — an elite unit investigating politically motivated murders. The nub of the matter is the division of powers enshrined in Section 207(4) of the South African Constitution: while the national police commissioner controls and manages the police service, this is to be conducted in accordance with national policy and ministerial direction.
This dual command structure embodies a nuanced balance between operational independence and democratic accountability. On the one hand, it aims to insulate policing from partisan political interference, ensuring that day-to-day management resides with a non-political professional. On the other, it mandates accountability by ensuring police actions adhere to policy frameworks set by democratically elected ministers, reflecting the will of the people.
The Madlala Commission proceedings reveal tension in how these boundaries are currently interpreted and applied—stemming from ambiguity in statutory instruments like the South African Police Service Act, which lacks precise definitions of the scope and limits of ministerial “policy” and “direction.” This legal ambiguity opens pathways for conflicts, institutional confusion and governance challenges that ultimately jeopardise the integrity of law enforcement and public trust.
The Commission’s revelations highlight the necessity of legal reform to articulate clear, enforceable definitions clarifying the roles and powers of policing actors. This reform is essential to preserve constitutional mandates: protecting the police from undue political manipulation, while ensuring that they do not operate unchecked outside democratic oversight.
Both the Cholota case and the Madlala Commission underscore a broader question about the legacy of Nelson Mandela’s moral and political leadership in South Africa’s constitutional democracy. Mandela’s stature infused governance structures with symbolic authority, inspiring institutions and society to uphold principles of justice, fairness, and equality.
This made Mandela’s leadership a critical source of moral compass, ensuring that democratic principles took root, even as formal legal protections and institutional frameworks continued to develop. His global stature as both a moral and ethical leader made governance appear not only lawful but just and righteous.
However, with the passing decades and shifting political leadership, South Africa’s democratic project is confronted with the limits of relying on moral authority alone. Both the Cholota case and proceedings at the Madlala Commission of Inquiry reveal the risks inherent when constitutional governance depends too heavily on leadership character rather than unambiguous legislation and institutional culture. These instances also show that no normative legacy, however powerful, can substitute for a robust legal framework and sound institutional checks built into the architecture of the state.
They also put South Africa at a crossroads — highlighting the imperative to strengthen South Africa’s constitutional democracy beyond symbolic legacies towards a mature, enforceable rule of law. In this context, legislative improvements such as anti-SLAPP laws and policing governance reforms emerge as necessary complements to safeguard fairness, accountability, and institutional integrity.
The above-mentioned instances also take place within a complex democratic environment. Three decades after Mandela’s presidency, South Africa remains a democracy distinguished by its progressive constitution, judicial independence, and vibrant civil society. Yet persistent challenges — corruption, inequality, political factionalism, and governance deficits — continue to test the resilience of its constitutional democracy.
In that regard, they also show that only through thoughtful legal reform and a robust institutional culture can South Africa transition from a democracy reliant on the moral stature of individuals to a resilient constitutional democracy grounded in transparent laws, accountable officials and empowered citizens.
What this also tells us is: South Africa’s democratic journey is unfinished. The foundations laid by Mandela provide a firm start — but renewal and reform are essential to build a constitutional democracy worthy of his name, capable of withstanding contemporary challenges and securing justice and dignity for all South Africans now and into the future.
* Ido Lekota is an independent journalist and political commentator
Comment
BEWARE OF FALSE PRIESTS
It is shocking that while the South African government and several civic movements are fighting the scourge of violence against women, this plague is actually perpetrated by certain self-proclaimed men of the cloth who raped and sexually abused young children – mostly members of their congregations – under the guise of providing spiritual guidance.
The latest embarrassing incident is that of a 41 -year- old pastor from Jesus is the Answer Church in Mamelodi, Pretoria who was recently convicted and jailed for life for raping and assaulting two young girls at their home while their parents were away. The girls, aged 12 and 14 from the Newtown informal settlement were abused during 2021 and 2022 according to the National Prosecuting Authority. Both victims were members of his congregation.
The incident happened almost three months after a serial pastor was sentenced to ten life imprisonment terms in the Nquthu Regional Magistrate’s Court on July 27, for raping nine children and attempting to rape another in the Eastern Cape. The victims, aged between 7 and 14, included boys and girls.
The sex pest’s modus operandi included luring the victims to his rented premises under the guise of providing spiritual guidance and helping him with certain tasks, according to the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE). The CGE noted with grave concern the recent arrests and jail terms of self-proclaimed pastors and prophets in various provinces across the country. They included Fezile Zozi who was sentenced to three life terms for raping women and minor children in North West between 2021 and 2023 under the pretence of offering spiritual revivals.
There was also Pastor Albert Tamasane who was jailed for life on two counts of raping an 11-year-old girl and Confidence Monyela of Limpopo who was jailed for life in connection with two counts of raping minors.
These shameful acts, by those who are supposed to bring comfort to the women and girls who were daily under violent attacks by men, has exposed the systemic issues that confronted people who had trust in some of these men of the cloth.
Violence against women and girls in this country is a scourge that has cost a lot of misery, pain and even death. Ministers of religion, who are relied upon to pray and help stop these attacks and advice abusive men to love their wives and children, are instead the ones who were exacerbating the situation.
Rape and sexual abuse are some of the most serious crimes in this country. The South African Police Services revealed that as of 2022\2023 fiscal year, nearly 53 500 South Africans reported being a victim of a sexual crime.
It is shocking that while many people were today turning to the church for guidance because of the turbulent times they were encountering due to socio-economic issues, certain evil monsters who pretend to be messengers of God, were actually sex pests preying on children old enough to be their own daughters.
This is disgusting.
