Politicians react to court's judgment on 'irrational' lockdown regulations
Politicians have weighed in on the high court's judgment on level 4 and 3 lockdown regulations.
The North Gauteng High Court declared that the regulations gazetted by co-operative governance & traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma were “unconstitutional and invalid”, TimesLIVE reported on Tuesday.
The declaration was made for alert level 4 and 3 lockdown regulations put in place to slow the spread of Covid-19.
The court sided with the Liberty Fighters Network and Hola Bon Renaissance Foundation when the two organisations challenged the regulations.
“The clear inference I draw from the evidence is that once the minister [Dlamini-Zuma] had declared a national state of disaster and once the goal was to ‘flatten the curve’ by way of retarding or limiting the spread of the virus — all very commendable and necessary objectives — little or in fact no regard was given to the extent of the impact of individual regulations on the constitutional rights of people and whether the extent of the limitation of their rights was justifiable,” said judge Norman Davis.
The declaration, however, does not mean that the rules of lockdown will be removed. The government has 14 days to update the regulations in line with the court's judgment, and level 3 regulations remain for now.
The government is studying the judgment but Liberty Fighters Network's president Reyno de Beer said it “would be a total slap in the faces of the people of SA” should the government appeal.
On social media, politicians voiced their opinions on the matter. Here is what they had to say:
It would appear that the judgement is a mess. The judge doesn’t seem to have pointed out specific regulations to strike down but based on examples struck all down. Not all are irrational. I have my list. Whoever prepared the government papers (lawyers and DG) botched it too.
— Mbhazima Shilowa (@Enghumbhini) June 3, 2020
This judgement is a legal JOKE! Not even a first year law student could have written such an incoherent an aurgument. The minister must appeal it! pic.twitter.com/cLg3t7BROX
— Mbuyiseni Ndlozi (@MbuyiseniNdlozi) June 2, 2020
This judgement will be the first of many that are going to go against the government and their petty, irrational regulations. Let this be the first in a series of lessons for those power drunk autocrats that this is a democracy and NOT a fiefdom and we are citizens NOT subjects!
— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) June 2, 2020
This is what happens when Minsiters go rogue and use a national pandemic as a guise to pursue personal agendas and political objectives.
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) June 2, 2020
The regulations were never guided by the science - they were guided by the personalities.
You have been exposed. https://t.co/XtiYd6AknK
Patel and Dlamini-Zuma who have been responsible for these regulations should resign if they had any self respect. However they won’t. The President has the perfect opportunity to fire them both but won’t because he doesn’t have the guts to do it. A real mess. https://t.co/aX9jC9110e
— Dean Macpherson MP 🇿🇦 (@DeanMacpherson) June 2, 2020