Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola believes it is not only judges who are required to uphold the rule of law and sustain democracy, but that citizens, too, have a role.

He delivered the keynote address at the Mpumalanga Provincial Constitutional Rights Conference, on Thursday, under the theme, The supremacy of the Constitution: Reflecting on the role of the Judiciary after 25 years of Constitutionalism.

The conference sought to provide a platform to reflect and engage on the role of the judiciary in protecting and upholding the rule of law, the Constitution as a tool in addressing socioeconomic challenges and building social cohesion and national unity.

“It is not only judges who are Constitutional beings, but all citizens are required to be Constitutional beings. The answer lies in citizens confronting corruption directly where it arises.  We can confront corruption by being intolerant of those amongst us who live off bribes and criminality. Criminality is the absence of humanity,” Lamola said, adding that humanity was at an “all-time low in South Africa”.

He was referring to various incidents of racism and attacks on black African nationals, as well as on Asian foreign nationals in the country. 

He said law enforcement must uphold the laws relating to illegal immigration and employment to prevent society from resorting to “self-help”.

He stated that South Africa’s democracy was being suffocated by corruption and said corrective action does not lie in citizens taking the law into their hands, or conducing militant operations in communities.

More broadly, he suggested that to ensure that a human rights-centred world prevailed, lasting solutions, through dialogue, would need to be found.

“The problem is not uniquely South African as it seems easy for nations in Europe to accommodate refugees with blonde hair and blue eyes, but near impossible to accommodate refugees from Africa and the Middle East respectively. This is nothing short of racial discrimination and we should not mince our words,” Lamola stated.