Civil society organisations accuse Sisulu of ‘damaging legitimacy of constitutional order’

This comes after Sisulu penned an opinion piece questioning the rule of law in South Africa.

A group of civil society organisations including Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, Corruption Watch and Freedom Under Law released a statement on Wednesday responding to Sisulu’s remarks.

The group says her comments are an attempt to sully the legitimacy of the country’s constitutional order.

“As a prominent member of government for a quarter of a century, Ms Sisulu would have had a uniquely clear view, during the years of State Capture, of the deliberate restructuring of the South African state to serve the interests of a subset of our political class at the expense of ordinary South Africans, especially the poor and vulnerable who daily suffer economic deprivation,” they said in a statement.

“She knows or should know, that it is not the judiciary which legislates and implements government policy, but parliament and the executive: to attempt to blame the judiciary for their failures is but the most cynical exercise in blame-shifting.”

The organisation says the article is yet another attack on the judiciary by politicians.

“It also bears noting that Ms Sisulu’s recent article registers against a sinister cacophony of unwarranted attacks on the judiciary by political actors. These appear intended only to foreclose on the prospect of accountability for crimes, malfeasance and other wrongdoing associated with public office.

“Judges find it difficult to respond to scurrilous attacks such as that authored by Ms Sisulu. The nature of their office typically demands that they maintain a dignified silence in the hope that decency and principled commitment to the values of the Constitution will prevail.”

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