The one that didn't get away.
Image: File
At last the big one has been caught.
The Constitutional Court, the highest in the land, has landed a big catch, hauling our fishy president out of the murky water he was swimming in so freely for so long.
The ConCourt ruled that the National Assembly had acted irrationally and unlawfully when it exonerated and absolved President Cyril Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing on his Phala Phala farm, and ordered it review the judgment. Someone else would flap about frantically and desperately try to get off the hook. They would also run around frantically, drumming up support and seeking help. But Ramaphosa is an old hand in the dirty game of politics and remains as cool as a cucumber.
He seems to have been well prepared for the ruling and affirmed that no one is above the law and that he respected the judgment. What a mature, respectful leader we have! If it had been Trump, he would have lambasted the judges with his foul language.
For years Ramaphosa has been ducking and diving, using his considerable power and influence in his dual role as president of the country and leader of the ANC to avoid justice over the Phala Phala scandal. But thanks to the EFF and ATM, we now have Ramaphosa back in the dock.
His cool demeanour can be interpreted in two ways. One, he resigned himself to the law, and secondly, if he showed anger and fluster, it would be seen as a sign of weakness and guilt.
In his address to the nation on Monday night Ramaphosa stood firm and said he would not resign, but would challenge the validity of the Phala Phala report as he believed it was flawed. He had not committed any crime but merely hidden the undeclared dollars in a sofa on his Phala Phala farm. The leader of the nation behaving like a rat!
The scandal also reveals another ugly side of our political system. The National Assembly is a disgrace. The MPs who sit there earning huge salaries are not honourable men and women, just scumbags! They protected Jacob Zuma, now they are protecting the dollar thief, Ramaphosa.
In England, almost 90 Labour MPs have turned their backs on British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, four of his ministers have quit. Will they do it here? Never! | T Markandan Kloof
FW de Klerk Foundation has expressed concern over the recent escalation of anti-immigrant mobilisation in parts of South Africa, including reports of intimidation, business closures, harassment of foreign nationals and calls for a nationwide shutdown demanding the removal of all foreign nationals, regardless of legal status.
The foundation acknowledged that South Africa faces serious challenges relating to undocumented migration, weak border management, unemployment, crime, labour exploitation and failures within the immigration system. It said these issues must be addressed firmly, lawfully and effectively by the state.
However, it stressed that the Constitution does not permit private individuals or movements to assume the powers of immigration officials, police officers or courts. Immigration enforcement, it said, is a state function and must be carried out in accordance with the Constitution, the Immigration Act of 2002, the Refugees Act of 1998, and the principles of legality, dignity and administrative justice.
The Foundation pointed to Section 1 of the Constitution, which commits South Africa to human dignity, equality, non-racialism, constitutional supremacy and the rule of law. Section 7, it added, confirms that the Bill of Rights protects all people in the country. While the state may distinguish between citizens and non-citizens in certain areas, the Constitution does not allow violence, intimidation, collective punishment or hate-driven exclusion.
Executive Director of the FW de Klerk Foundation, Christo van der Rheede, said: “A constitutional democracy cannot allow public frustration to become private punishment. South Africans are entitled to demand effective immigration control, but no person or group is entitled to turn our streets, clinics, schools or places of trade into border posts. The rule of law is not defended by vigilantism; it is destroyed by it.”
The Foundation further warned that xenophobic mobilisation risks deepening social division, damaging local economies, undermining public safety and harming South Africa’s standing on the continent.
It noted that many foreign nationals living in South Africa are lawful residents, refugees, asylum seekers, workers, traders, parents and children, and should not be treated as a single criminal category.
Manager of Constitutional Advancement at the FW de Klerk Foundation, Ismail Joosub, said: “The constitutional answer is not open borders and it is not mob justice. It is lawful, competent and humane governance. The state must enforce immigration law with seriousness, but it must also protect every person within our borders from violence, humiliation and arbitrary targeting.”
The Foundation called on government to strengthen lawful immigration enforcement, act against corruption and exploitation, protect vulnerable communities and ensure that all protests remain peaceful, unarmed and within constitutional bounds.
South Africa, it said, must address migration challenges without surrendering its constitutional soul. | Ismail Joosub Johannesburg
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