“Government appears to be leveraging the pandemic to suppress dissent” By Stanley Malematja This month, the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) published updated regulations with amendments to the December and January adjusted alert level three lockdown. A number of measures aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19 were relaxed, including bans on gatherings at faith-based institutions. Yet, there have been...

Laws criminalising conduct connected with gatherings do not align with the Constitution By Catherine Kruyer The South African Police Service Amendment Bill, prepared by the Civilian Secretariat for the Police Service and recently published for public comment, is a comprehensive revision of the legislation governing policing in South Africa to align it with the Constitution. The legislation being amended includes the Regulation of Gatherings Act...

SLAPP suit adversaries to fight it out in Cape High Court  By John Yeld South Africa’s hard-won constitutional rights to freedom of expression and of legitimate political protest are under mounting pressure from both the state and private companies, and the courts are being increasingly used in this form of “lawfare” to stifle criticism and dissent. This was emphasised on Tuesday at the...