Court victory shows government is unworthy of the power it has grabbed from citizens – IRR

Press Release 

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) welcomes the judgment delivered by the Gauteng Division of the High Court declaring the current lockdown regulations unconstitutional.

This confirms the constitutional and legal analysis the IRR published more than a month ago, concluding that the lockdown regulations failed to pass constitutional muster.

The IRR is proud to have been, and proud to continue to be, a leading voice in making the case for the freedom of South Africans.

The reasoning of the Gauteng Division of the High Court that the government acted irrationally in the initial conception of the lockdown regulations illuminates powerfully the fact that the ANC has lost sight of the foundations of a liberal constitutional democracy.

Instead of matching its actions with the hard-won freedoms of the people, the governing party advanced its own political and ideological objectives at the expense of vital constitutional considerations of liberty.

Sadly, this behaviour is what South Africans have come to expect from the ANC – continuing a despicable tradition in South Africa of governments trampling on the rights of people. This attitude has seen the economy, and the liberty and prosperity, of South Africans deteriorate and stagnate following the initial progress made after 1994. The ANC has indisputably betrayed the values and principles that once made it a voice of freedom for ordinary South Africans. It is that no longer.

Said IRR Deputy Head of Policy Research Hermann Pretorius: “The government has shown itself unworthy of the power it has grabbed, and which it will continue to, unless stopped by the coalition of citizens and civil society that has found its voice in this time of crisis.

“The IRR has proudly been a leader in this coalition for almost a century, oftentimes fighting the battle of ideas against the power of government on its own. It is a sign of the hunger for freedom in this country that the IRR is now no longer fighting alone.

“To South Africans who are afraid and unsure of the future, we say: join us. It doesn't have to be this way. Your freedom is worth fighting for. This small but significant victory is a sign of what can be achieved if ordinary people join us in the battle of ideas.”
 

Media contact: Hermann Pretorius, IRR Deputy Head of Policy Research – 079 875 4290; hermann@irr.org.za
Media enquiries: Michael Morris Tel: 066 302 1968 Email: michael@irr.org.za
Kelebogile Leepile Tel: 079 051 0073 Email: kelebogile@irr.org.za
 
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