Who and what is AfriForum?

AfriForum is an Afrikaans civil rights organisation that protects the rights of minority groups at national as well as provincial level, and anyone who can identify with AfriForum’s principles and objectives may join the organisation. AfriForum’s community plan focuses on mobilising communities to thus take control of their own streets and neighbourhoods again. AfriForum ensures that your constitutional and civil rights are recognised and protected at national level.

Wie en wat is AfriForum?

AfriForum is ’n Afrikaanse burgerregteorganisasie wat die regte van minderheidsgroepe op sowel nasionale as provinsiale vlak beskerm, en enigiemand wat met AfriForum se beginsels en doelstellings kan identifiseer, mag by die organisasie aansluit. AfriForum se gemeenskapsplan fokus daarop om gemeenskappe te mobiliseer om só weer beheer terug te neem oor hul eie strate en woonbuurtes. AfriForum verseker dat jou grondwetlike én burgerregte op nasionale vlak erken en beskerm word.

AfriForum calls on parliament not to hold the Constitutional Court in contempt

This media statement is also available in Zulu and Setswana.

Soundbite: Barend Uys (English)

Soundbite: Barend Uys (Afrikaans)

AfriForum calls on parliament to adhere to the Constitutional Court’s timelines for amending legislation or rectifying legislative processes deemed unconstitutional or invalid. This follows the court’s eleventh-hour order yesterday (29 May), which extended the period for constitutionally adopting the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act, 3 of 2019, or a new act, by two years until 29 May 2027. Yesterday was the set date ordered by the Constitutional Court for the adoption of the act.

The order was issued after Velenkosini Hlabisa, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, issued a non-urgent application on 16 April requesting an extension of the period.

“The fact that this critically important legislation has not been finalised in accordance with the Constitution within the stipulated period plunges several of the country’s cultural communities into uncertainty for another two years. This sends a message to communities that the institutions and structures of cultural communities, as well as cultural and group rights in general, are not a priority for the government,” says Barend Uys, Head of Intercultural Relations and Cooperation at AfriForum.

Yesterday’s Constitutional Court ruling is yet another example where the Court had to grant an extension because the necessary work was not completed within the set timeframe. Examples of this include:

On 25 August 2016, the court granted a third extension for correcting sections 2 and 3 of the Protection of Performing Animals Act.
On 23 March 2018, the court extended the CPS contract, previously declared invalid, for the payment of cash grants from the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) for six months.
On 9 December 2022, the court granted a second extension (from 10 December 2022 to 28 February 2023) to finalise the Electoral Amendment Act.
On 26 June 2024, the court granted a further two years for correcting the Marriage and Divorce Acts.

“The ANC-led government and parliamentarians frequently claim that South Africa is a functioning constitutional democracy. This particularly has been done recently in response to actions taken and statements made by the Trump administration in the US. However, the fact that South Africa’s highest court repeatedly has to extend set timelines to prevent parliament and government officials from being found in contempt of court is indicative of a lack of dedication and commitment to a constitutional order,” Uys concludes.

In March this year, AfriForum appealed to Hlabisa to act in the interest of cultural communities and make essential amendments to the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Bill, 2024, as the bill in its current form, according to AfriForum, is in contravention of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).