Seri: ConCourt ruling on apartheid Intimidation Act a victory for all
On Tuesday, the apex court delivered a unanimous judgment declaring a section of the act unconstitutional, adding that it violated freedom of speech.
JOHANNESBURG - The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (Seri) on Tuesday said the Constitutional Court ruling on the apartheid-era Intimidation Act of 1982 was not only a victory for general Alfred Moyo, but for ordinary South Africans who wished to genuinely express their grievances.
On Tuesday, the apex court delivered a unanimous judgment declaring a section of the act unconstitutional, adding that it violated freedom of speech.
In 2012, Moyo - an activist from the Makause informal settlement in Germiston - was arrested and charged with intimidation after he allegedly told officers at the Primrose police station he would make sure they were removed and there would be bloodshed.
He had been planning a community march against police brutality and poor policing in the area and was then arrested.
Seri described the judgment by the Concourt as a landmark ruling.
Nkosinathi Sithole a lawyer from the institute said: “It basically means people are now able to make free speech and express whatever they were feeling and their concerns.”
Moyo said he had been vindicated following the seven-year-long legal battle: “It’s been tough because the State has been trying to actively make sure that they get me behind bars.”
Before Tuesday’s ConCourt judgment, the High Court in Pretoria and the Supreme Court of Appeal disagreed with Moyo that the section of the Intimidation Act of 1982 violated freedom of expression.
