Cyril takes veiled swipe at Sisulu
JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken a veiled swipe at Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu following her recent attack on the judiciary and Constitution.
In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa said the Constitution and democratic State should be protected at all costs.
Sisulu questioned the Constitution and whether it had done enough to deal with structural issues brought about by apartheid.
In her most recent response, published on IOL, Sisulu said the Constitution was a ‘man-made’ and historically contextualised document.
She has faced widespread criticism over the article, in which she also questioned the moral standing of the country’s judges.
Safeguard
Ramaphosa, who is yet to speak publicly about the matter, said: “We must safeguard against any and all efforts to diminish our hard-won democracy – whether these efforts take the form of corruption in State-owned enterprises, the subversion of our law enforcement agencies, the sabotage of our economic infrastructure, or attacks on the independence and integrity of our judiciary. We need to protect our Constitution, our democratic state and the electoral process from anyone who wants to weaken our democracy and deny the South African people of their hard-won freedom.”
Sisulu’s comments have led to a rift in the Cabinet, with other ministers denouncing her utterances.
In her latest bout with Cabinet colleagues, Sisulu slammed Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, who had cautioned her that ‘referring to judicial officers by using crude racial tropes cannot pass off as a debate’.