Justice Malala: All South Africans who love this country should march on the South African Broadcasting Corporation and demand that former president Thabo Mbeki be put on air.

We should not do it because we love Mbeki. We should do it because we love our independent institutions and we want them to continue to serve us, the public, and not narrow political interests.

The alleged banning of Mbeki by SABC bosses serves narrow ANC political interests. It does nothing for the public interest. Let me illustrate the point:

Back in 2007, at its Polokwane conference, the ANC decided that the Scorpions, the elite crime-busting unit, should be disbanded. Civil society cried foul. Politicians on opposition benches said please don't. Yet it was done.

Supported by Cosatu and the SACP, ANC lawmakers swiftly and eagerly oiled state machinery to put the Scorpions out of business.

Johannesburg businessman Hugh Glenister put up a brave and sustained fight.

He went to court and tried to use this institution to convince the ANC to stay its hand, but there was nothing doing.

Glenister's lawyer, Advocate David Unterhalter SC, argued that the decision to dissolve the Scorpions sacrificed the wellbeing of all South Africans on the altar of political expediency.

"This is not being done in order to create a better oiled machine, it is being done to carry out the narrow interests of the ANC as a political party," he said in May 2008.

Unterhalter has been proven right. Today the same Cosatu that howled for the disbanding of this unit finds itself in a tight corner.

Cosatu is calling for action to be taken against ministers facing allegations of corruption. The government continues to drag its feet.

The truth, as Cosatu finds out now, is that the very same institution it so enthusiastically helped disband was a crucial ally in the battle against corruption.

There is a lesson in all of this: Every democracy needs to protect its institutions and make sure that they serve society at large. No institution must be allowed to become a political tool.

About a month ago a fund manager said: "In the United States the president may leave but the Supreme Court will always be there. That is why I believe in the institutions of that country and its continued democracy."

The disbanding of the Scorpions robbed us of the ability to make that assertion.

There has been much guffawing at the news that the SABC may have banned Mbeki from appearing on its channels. Many have pointed out that in Mbeki's time as president the SABC slavishly followed whatever line his office and the ANC fed them. Mbeki was followed around by SABC reporters like an oracle.

Long, boring interviews were conducted with him, while his adversary at the time, Jacob Zuma, never got a look in.

Independent political thinkers such as Aubrey Matshiqi were banned from appearing on the SABC. Meddling in editorial matters was commonplace. The SABC became not a public broadcaster but a state broadcaster. It served the powers-that-be.

Much-loved and respected journalists such as John Perlman were put under immense pressure to toe the line and were slowly but surely turfed out.

Many, on hearing of Mbeki's possible ban, are saying he is getting a taste of his own medicine.

I feel no joy at the news. The truth is that if these allegations are true - and given the history of the SABC, I believe that it is - then it means this government has learnt nothing from our recent history.

It means that we still do not understand the meaning of a public institution.

An SABC that bans Mbeki today, will ban Cosatu's Zwelinzima Vavi tomorrow. It will also never allow Hugh Glenister, the man who is still fighting to restore the Scorpions, to state his case on any of its channels.

Those who rejoice at the banning of Mbeki should bear in mind that soon Zuma will be out of power. Will the next leader of the country tell his lieutenants that Zuma should not be allowed to use the public broadcaster to be heard?

South Africans have, shamefully, let the Scorpions die. The SABC is being destroyed in a similar manner.

We should all be marching on the Union Buildings and demanding that Mbeki be put on air.

Because if we don't, tomorrow we will be watching non-stop Zuma specials on the SABC. And it will be our fault.

We would have allowed our politicians to do to the SABC what they did to the Scorpions.