Riyaz Patel
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng says inequality had become “sharper” than during the apartheid era, branding as “traitors” those who are indifferent to the plight of millions South Africans languishing in poverty.
“You are indifferent because you have a position that pays you well; if you are indifferent to the people who live in Diepsloot because you live in a suburb, know that you are a traitor,” said Mogoeng delivering the 17th Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus Saturday.
“It really is a shame that 25 years down the line we still have so many of our people suffering as much as they do. It is a shame that inequality has become sharper during our constitutional democracy than during apartheid, and check who is at the top.”
This year’s theme for the lecture focused on ‘Constitutionalism as an Instrument for Transformation.’
The Chief Justice said the Constitution was an instrument for building a society in which nobody would have a reason to be “ashamed of his or her state of affairs.”
“Very little is going to be changed if our people are ignorant of their rights under the Constitution. You can’t fight for something you don’t know you have a right to,” Mogoeng said.
“Madiba said one of the things we needed to do as judges is give reasons for our decisions that an ordinary man can understand. You must be worried when you read a judgement and you are struggling to make sense of it.”
“The greatest facilitator of sustained injustice is keeping people ignorant of what they are entitled to; knowledge is power,” he added.
“If you love of money fame & publicity more than anything else it’s just a matter of time before you betray the constitution.”
The Chief Justice said South Africans had to confront the persistent challenges of racism, sexism, and tribalism, and come up with “practical steps to give practical expression to constitutionalism in South Africa.”
“The purpose of this lecture ought to be: What is wrong with our society? How did it come to be that 25 years down the line we still have people without homes, we still have racial discrimination, ethnicity, gender discrimination, and even tribalism?” Mogoeng asked.
The Chief Justice also called for unity and a renewed sense hope in the face of adversity.
“If Mandela, who knew as a lawyer, that life imprisonment means life imprisonment, could have hope, why should you be hopeless? Why should you allow your economic situation to render you hopeless?”
Mogoeng said the nation needs to adopt a Madiba-type constitutional value system, in order to deal with corruption, racism and gender-based violence.
The Chief Justice said the social ills that have plagued society are a result of men and women of goodwill, turning a blind eye and going against what Nelson Mandela instilled in the country.
“Our struggle, our constitution, our challenges are all about the need to secure justice for the people of South Africa and you can’t talk justice and not talk about racism, you can’t talk justice and not about the land. You have to dwell deep and identify the dynamics below that which you are articulating.”
“People celebrate directorship and free shares at the expense of what our Constitution is about. I’m not saying everyone in business is corrupt. But when fundamentally wrong things happen in our society, why are the firebrands of yesteryear quiet?”asked Mogoeng.
The Chief Justice issued a concluding plea: “Please honour Madiba’s legacy by giving expression to our constitution. May generations to come never curse you for your cowardice and failure to do what Madiba suffered for in order for you and I to enjoy.”
