‘We were treated like children – we decided enough was enough’
THE man behind the court victory that has the entire country talking is an ordinary citizen who felt it was his civic duty to take on the government single-handedly.
It was the proverbial David taking on Goliath when Reyno de Beer, 43, of Derdepoort in Pretoria, faced counsel acting for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.
De Beer did not hesitate to make his voice heard; he conducted his own case before Judge Norman Davis.
He was the first applicant in the case to have the Covid-19 regulations declared unconstitutional. And he is immensely proud, but humble, that he won his case.
The government now has 14 days in which to come up with new, amended regulations that will not trample on people’s rights.
De Beer faced the government together with his organisation, Liberty Fighters Network, a voluntary organisation fighting for the right to justice for all.
The organisation, which was cited as the second applicant, had its case argued by lawyer Zehir Omar.
Asked why he decided to take on the issues that were on everyone’s mind, but which no one dared to legally challenge, De Beer said: “We were treated like children. My mother taught me since I was small to be hygienic and to wash my hands. It is up to us to fight the spread of this virus, not up to the government to tell us what to do.”
De Beer said he and his organisation had been fighting, for years, for people’s human rights, especially those who were mistreated by their landlords and thrown out on the streets through no fault of their own.
“We decided to take on this fight after thousands of tenants were embroiled in disputes with their landlords, especially during the difficult economic times brought by the lockdown regulations.
“We turned to the government for help and even to the police, but there was no help. We decided enough is enough, and we will fight these regulations in court.”
De Beer said he was no stranger to facing judges as he had, over the years, as a human-rights activist, brought cases to court that he argued himself.
It was therefore not a daunting task to face the government.
“I am a bit overwhelmed at what we achieved, but I believed in our case. We are waiting for the government’s response, but I honestly don’t expect them to appeal this.
“That would be a slap in the faces of South Africans. The AU and UN are now aware that the lockdown regulations were declared unconstitutional due to the infringement of our human rights.”
De Beer said the effort of going to court and winning was worth every moment, as history had been made.
Omar, meanwhile, said that he too did not believe the government would appeal against the judgment.
“Its now up to Parliament to look at the regulations and to amend them. It would be best for them to call in our country’s top legal minds to assist them, because ministers such as Dlamini Zuma are not lawyers.”
The government said it would study the judgment before deciding on the way forward.