Constitution - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

South Africa will work harder, sparing neither strength nor courage, to fulfil the basic human rights of her people

THE adoption of our Constitution with its Bill of Rights by the Constitutional Assembly on the 8th of May 1996 was a great moment in our struggle to achieve a free and equal society. As I said at the time, it marked the day our country and our people came of age. I referred to our constitution as the birth certificate of our nation. On that occasion, we proclaimed to the world that we are a society committed to democracy, to the rule of law and to the protection of human rights. The Constitution came to be as a result…

Oct

2023

By PRAVEEN MENON

‘Reconciliation is dead’: Indigenous Australians vow silence after referendum fails

WORLD

AUSTRALIAN Indigenous leaders called for a week of silence and reflection after a referendum to recognise First Peoples in the constitution was decisively rejected. More than 60% of Australians voted "No" in the landmark referendum on Saturday that asked whether to alter the constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people with an Indigenous advisory body, the "Voice to Parliament", that would have advised parliament on matters concerning the community. Australia's first referendum in almost a quarter of a century needed a national majority and majorities in at least four states to pass. All six states rejected the proposal. "This is a bitter…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Ghana’s new chief justice: Gertrude Tokornoo faces challenges, but could help transform the country’s courts

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

HER Ladyship Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo took office as the 15th, chief justice of Ghana on 12 June 2023. She is the third woman to occupy the position, which is the fourth highest in the country after the president, vice-president and speaker of parliament. Ghana’s judiciary is made up of the supreme court, the court of appeal, the high court and the magistrate (district) court. The chief justice is at the top of the judicial hierarchy and serves as administrator and supervisor. KWADWO APPIAGYEI-ATUA, Associate Professor of Law, University of Ghana The supreme court has the power, as the…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Central African Republic plans referendum on scrapping presidential term limits

NEWS

CENTRAL African Republic's President Faustin-Archange Touadera said he would hold a referendum in July on his intention to change the constitution and remove term limits. Touadera's allies proposed the change in May last year, arguing that presidential term limits were uncommon in many neighbouring countries. Critics and opposition parties held protests last year as the reform would allow Touadera to run again in 2025 for a third term. The president installed a commission to draft the proposed changes in September. But the country's top court ruled the committee unconstitutional and annulled it. In an address to the nation on Tuesday, Touadera…

May

2023

By DR MATHEWS PHOSA

How students can contribute to building a better future for all

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WE must never forget to celebrate the gains that we have made since that historic day of political liberation twenty-nine years ago in May 1994. We have a Constitution that is universally admired, we can all proudly bring out our vote, and we have a democratic and vibrant political system wherein Opposition parties utilize every inch of the leeway that parliamentary rules and the law afford them - to keep the government on their toes. Strides have been made with social upliftment and - in some cases - we have created excellent infrastructure. We have struggled, however, with the maintenance…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Justice Yvonne Mokgoro: South Africa’s trailblazing defender of justice, human dignity and the constitution

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MANY great legal minds have made important contributions to the development of the law, justice and constitutionalism in South Africa. One figure who stands out as a particularly influential jurist of the era is retired judge Yvonne Mokgoro. She was among the first justices of the country’s new constitutional court, serving from 1994 to 2009. Researchers at South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council have aptly described this remarkable jurist: As the first black African woman appointed to the Bench in 1994, she brought with her fresh scars of the oppressive system of apartheid that alienated and marginalised her as a…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

Fight crime, not migrants – Ramaphosa

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA TWENTY-five years ago, our new democratic Constitution came into effect. In adopting this Constitution, we affirmed our commitment to a society based on democratic values, social justice and human rights. We were also making a complete break with our past. This was a past of race-based social engineering that manifested itself through influx control, job reservation, group areas and the dreaded dompas. When our forebears drafted the Freedom Charter in 1955, whose principles have been incorporated in our constitution, and declared that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, they were seeking a society free from…

Mar

2022

By The African Mirror

Nigeria rejects diaspora vote, special seats for women

NEWS

NIGERIA'S Senate voted to reject changes to the constitution to allow citizens living abroad to vote in national elections, while a provision to allocate special seats for women to increase their political representation failed to pass. Voters in Africa's most populous nation will go to the polls to elect a new president and parliament in February 2023. Hopes that Nigeria's diaspora would take part were dashed when only 29 senators out of the 92 present supported the provision. For a constitutional bill to pass, it requires the support of at least two-thirds of the 109-member senate. Nigeria's diaspora population was…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Tunisian president has lost his legitimacy – parties

NEWS

FOUR Tunisian parties have declared that President Kais Saied has lost his legitimacy and called for an end to what they called a coup after he took control of legislative and executive powers. Saied has said he would rule by decree and ignore parts of the constitution as he prepared to change the political system. Attayar, Al Jouhmouri, Akef and Ettakatol parties said in a joint statement that Saied's move enshrined an absolute power monopoly. Saied has held nearly total power since July 25 when he sacked the prime minister, suspended parliament and assumed executive authority citing a national emergency.…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa sliding towards a “constitutional dictatorship”, warns ex-president Zuma

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER JACOB Zuma, the former South African president, has again attacked the country’s courts, warning that SA was heading towards a “constitutional dictatorship”. In a statement issued days after the Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, dismissed his application to have his 15 month sentence set aside, Zuma repeated his attack on the judiciary, including his belief that the courts were out to get him In a majority judgment, the Constitutional Court rejected Zuma’s rescission application, describing it , among others, as “litigious skullduggery”. Zuma intends to take his case to the African Court on Human and People’s…