Ramaphosa’s Decision to Release 9 488 Prisoners to Save Zuma Places Society at Risk
Herman Mashaba
ActionSA President
ActionSA rejects with contempt President Ramaphosa’s ‘political solution’ to former President Zuma’s reincarceration, which has seen the release of 9,488 criminals back into society to save Zuma from serving further prison time.
This move makes a mockery of the criminal justice system in South Africa by demonstrating once again that President Ramaphosa puts the ANC first and the country second.
The criminal and civil justice system relies on the principle of ensuring that there are consequences for unlawful acts. President Zuma knowingly and deliberately defied our Apex Court, and publicly demonstrated his disdain for the legal system. Instead of affirming the supremacy of the Rule of Law in South Africa by ensuring that Zuma accounts for these actions, President Ramaphosa’s government has bent over backwards to allow him to evade the consequences of these actions.
His most recent decision to release 9,488 criminals back into society as a guise to save Zuma from serving another day in prison sends a message to society that the Rule of Law does not apply to those in power. This sets a dangerous precedent that erodes the broader principle of unlawful acts having consequences, evident to all those who face rampant criminality on a daily basis.
The Rule of Law has been consistently undermined and eroded by the ANC government over the past three decades. Today South Africa faces some of the highest murder and rape rates in the world, with the Thabo Bester matter being a case study in how dysfunctional our criminal justice system has become. As a party based on the Rule of Law, ActionSA will fight to restore this cornerstone of our Constitution and ensure that the justice system is an effective deterrent to unlawfulness.
Ramaphosa’s Decision to Release 9 488 Prisoners to Save Zuma Places Society at Risk
ActionSA rejects with contempt President Ramaphosa’s ‘political solution’ to former President Zuma’s reincarceration, which has seen the release of 9,488 criminals back into society to save Zuma from serving further prison time.
This move makes a mockery of the criminal justice system in South Africa by demonstrating once again that President Ramaphosa puts the ANC first and the country second.
The criminal and civil justice system relies on the principle of ensuring that there are consequences for unlawful acts. President Zuma knowingly and deliberately defied our Apex Court, and publicly demonstrated his disdain for the legal system. Instead of affirming the supremacy of the Rule of Law in South Africa by ensuring that Zuma accounts for these actions, President Ramaphosa’s government has bent over backwards to allow him to evade the consequences of these actions.
His most recent decision to release 9,488 criminals back into society as a guise to save Zuma from serving another day in prison sends a message to society that the Rule of Law does not apply to those in power. This sets a dangerous precedent that erodes the broader principle of unlawful acts having consequences, evident to all those who face rampant criminality on a daily basis.
The Rule of Law has been consistently undermined and eroded by the ANC government over the past three decades. Today South Africa faces some of the highest murder and rape rates in the world, with the Thabo Bester matter being a case study in how dysfunctional our criminal justice system has become. As a party based on the Rule of Law, ActionSA will fight to restore this cornerstone of our Constitution and ensure that the justice system is an effective deterrent to unlawfulness.