Cape Town – Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has defended Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu after she received criticism from acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo over her recent opinion piece on the country’s constitution and rule of law.
Sisulu recently caused a stir when she wrote an opinion piece entitled “Hi Mzansi, have we seen justice?”.
In the opinion piece, Sisulu questioned the country’s constitution, judiciary, and those responsible for their implementation.
“What we have instead witnessed under a supreme constitution and the rule of law since 1994 has been the co-option and invitation of political power brokers to the dinner table, whose job is to keep the masses quiet in their sufferance while they dine caviar with colonised capital (CC). After dinner, many things take place under the table and around the table. Some call it stomach politics. The politicians take care of themselves and their families while those who put them there go to bed hungry, waiting for crumbs from the table…
“Today, in the high echelons of our judicial system are these mentally colonised Africans, who have settled with the worldview and mindset of those who have dispossessed their ancestors. They are only too happy to lick the spittle of those who falsely claim superiority. The lack of confidence that permeates their rulings against their own speaks very loudly, while others, secure in their agenda, clap behind closed doors,” Sisulu wrote in part.
In response, Zondo said that Sisulu had hurled insults at the entire judiciary and suggested that action be taken against her.
“This is not criticism, it is an insult to the justices of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), judges president of all divisions and all African judges of this country. There is no substantiation of any of this, no attempt to put up any facts, refer to any judgment to demonstrate what she is talking about,” IOL quoted Zondo as saying.
He added: “There is no substantiation of any of this, no attempt to put up any facts, refer to any judgment to demonstrate what she is talking about.”
But Malema defended Sisulu, saying she must stand her ground and not be bullied by “anyone on the payroll of CR17”.
“Lindiwe Sisulu must never allow anyone on the payroll of CR17 to bully her. If she has taken a political position, she must stand by it. Zondo might have taken Zuma to jail but will never tell us what to think & say… we are not scared of him & he must know that,” Malema wrote in a tweet.
Lindiwe Sisulu must never allow anyone on the payroll of CR17 to bully her. If she has taken a political position, she must stand by it. Zondo might have taken Zuma to jail but will never tell us what to think & say… we are not scared of him & he must know that.
— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) January 12, 2022
Meanwhile, Sisulu has also responded to Zondo’s remarks, stating that she was consulting with her legal team and will respond to his comments at the right time.
“I have noted the comments made by the Acting Chief Justice Zondo and they will be engaged with at an appropriate time in an appropriate platform,” Sisulu wrote in a tweet.
I have noted the comments made by the Acting Chief Justice Zondo and they will be engaged with at an appropriate time in an appropriate platform.
— Lindiwe Sisulu (@LindiweSisuluSA) January 12, 2022
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Compiled by Sinothando Siyolo
