Sisulu Retracts 'Hurtful' Judiciary Comments After Meeting With Cyril Ramaphosa
- Lindiwe Sisulu has reportedly relinquished her scathing attack on the country's judicial system and the judges who preside over it
- The Tourism Minister met with President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this week, ahead of retracting her remarks and making an apology
- Sisulu said she recognises that many past and present judges have served the judicial system with dedication and patriotism
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CAPE TOWN - South Africa's Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu has not been spared her blushes as she now reportedly withdraws the rash comments about the judiciary following a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town.
Briefly News understands the meeting held this week came to light on Thursday, with the Presidency saying in a statement that Ramaphosa chastised Sisulu during the engagement.
Source: Getty Images
Earlier, Briefly News reported that Sisulu wrote an opinion piece on IOL two weeks ago in which she rubbished the moral standing of the country's judges, especially black judges, and questioned whether the constitution had adequately dealt with issues brought about by apartheid.
In the Presidency's statement, Ramaphosa reportedly called Sisulu to order over the convoluted digs directed at the aforementioned judges. In one part of her piece, Sisulu said:
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"Today, in the high echelons of our judicial system are those mentally colonised Africans, who've accepted the worldview and mindset of those who have dispossessed their ancestors."
Full support offered to judiciary
The statement singled out this excerpt, among others, as being comments Ramaphosa honed in on during his session with the former Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, News24 reported.
Sisulu conceded her remarks were unacceptable before "unequivocally retracting my hurtful comments". Further, the minister affirmed her support for the country's judicial system, according to an IOL report.
"I accept that my opinion piece directed deeply hurtful comments towards the judiciary and African judges in particular. I acknowledge that many judges, both men and women presently serving and who served in the past, have done so with dedication and patriotism," she said.
"Some of whom made sterling sacrifices in the fight against apartheid and colonialism. I apologise for the hurt I have caused the judiciary," she added.
Old clip of retired Chief Justice Mogoeng crops up
Against the backdrop of Sisulu's comments, a heated debate emerged on social media, with a video surfacing of former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng giving a pre-warning against an attempt to see the judiciary captured.
Briefly News reported that the material did the rounds online as public reaction mounted over the minister's controversial opinion piece. According to TimesLIVE, the 2019 clip was taken at the 17th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture hosted at the University of Johannesburg's Soweto campus.
There, Mogoeng spoke against those trying to capture the judiciary. He spoke at length about the ramifications of a captured judicial system.
"There's an attempt to capture the judiciary. Should this happen, the judiciary will lose the ability to use the constitution as an instrument of transformation. A captured judicial member will get advance information when so and so are involved," Mogoeng highlighted.
Source: Briefly News
