Picture: The acting Minister of Police, Gwede Mantashe
By OBAKENG MAJE
15 July 2025- The Republic of South Africa (RSA), President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, as Acting Minister of Police with immediate effect. Ramaphosa said Mantashe will serve in this capacity until Prof Firoz Cachalia, who will retire from his position at the University of the Witwatersrand at the end of this month, assumes his position at the start of August.
“Mantashe will retain his responsibilities as Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources,” he said.
Picture: Embattled Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu
By REGINALD KANYANE
13 July 2025- The Republic of South Africa (RSA), President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Sunday, address the nation on developments arising from a public statement by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that details allegations against senior political and South African Police Service leadership. Ramaphosa was attending a BRICS summit in Brazil on 6 July 2025, when Mkhwanazi outlined numerous allegations at a media briefing.
Ramaphosa spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya said he undertook to attend to this development on his return from Brazil, in view of the implications for national security. Magwenya said Ramaphosa has been seized with this matter in recent days and will, following various consultations, take the nation into his confidence at 7pm on 13 July 2025.
“The President’s message will be broadcast and streamed on various platforms,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa is expected to establish a commission of inquiry led by a retired judge to investigate Mkhwanazi’s explosive allegations. During a media briefing last week, Mkhwanazi accused the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, Deputy Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya and some of members from National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Judiciary in cohorts with criminals.
23 Jun 2025- The Republic of South Africa (RSA), Cyril Ramaphosa said he has noted with a great deal of anxiety the entry by the United States of America (USA) into the Israel-Iran war. Ramaphosa said it was South Africa’s sincerest hope that US President, Donald Trump would use his influence and that of the US government to prevail on the parties to pursue a dialogue path in resolving their issues of dispute.
“South Africa calls on the United States, Israel, and Iran to give the United Nations the opportunity and space to lead on the peaceful resolution of the matters of dispute, including the inspection and verification of Iran’s status of uranium enrichment, as well as its broader nuclear capacity,” he said.
23 June 2025- The Republic of South Africa (RSA), Cyril Ramaphosa said across many parts of the world, human rights are under threat and constitutionalism is increasingly being tested. Ramaphosa said in March 2025, the UN Human Rights Council said the world is facing ‘a moment of profound instability’ – characterised by conflict, democratic backsliding, declining respect for the rule of law, right-wing populism, attacks on civil society and judicial independence being undermined.
He further said the council stressed the need for countries to strengthen democratic institutions charged with safeguarding fundamental rights and freedoms. Ramaphosa added that, as South Africans, they can be proud that they continue to strive to live up to this obligation.
“Even as we face numerous challenges, our democratic order is in good health, anchored in a progressive constitution and a Constitutional Court that continues to safeguard the rights of all.
“This year marks 30 years since the court convened for the first time, marking a new, bold chapter of our democratic journey. The imperative for the establishment of a specialised constitutional court was a key facet of the multiparty negotiations that preceded the democratic transition,” he said.
Ramaphosa said whilst some believed that existing structures such as the Supreme Court could perform this task, the African National Congress (ANC) advocated for a new court that was untainted by the past. He said just as drafters of the constitution itself drew heavily on the experiences of other countries – when considering the model of the court, they looked to other jurisdictions for inspiration.
“One of these was Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court that was established in 1951. Retired Constitutional Court Judge Richard Goldstone recalls how the 11 members of the new court met for the first time in the German city of Karlsruhe, the seat of the Federal Constitutional Court.
“Retired Judge Johann Kriegler recalls how they learned skilled adjudication of constitutional issues from their German colleagues. In this respect, this proud institution of our democracy is the product of constitutional solidarity,” said Ramphosa.
He said it draws on the wisdom and support of international partners, yet remains uniquely South African in its outlook, its orientation and values. Ramaphosa said the court’s first case in 1995, on the constitutionality of the death penalty – set the tone for a humanistic jurisprudence grounded in human dignity that endures to this day.
“In his judgment, one of South Africa’s finest legal minds, South Africa’s first black Chief Justice Ismail Mohamed, immortalised the vision of the new court.
“The South African Constitution is different,” Justice Mohamed writes. “It retains from the past only what is defensible and represents a decisive break from, and a ringing rejection of that part of the past which is disgracefully racist, authoritarian, insular and repressive, and a vigorous identification of and commitment to a democratic, universalistic, caring and inspirationally egalitarian ethos,” he said.
Ramaphosa said over the past 30 years, the Constitutional Court has advanced this aspirationally egalitarian ethos in far-reaching ways. He said landmark judgments are well-known on issues such as the death penalty, access to HIV/Aids treatment, prisoners’ right to vote, and others.
“Yet its less well-known judgments that have had equally dramatic impact on matters such as upholding the rights of pensioners to not having their old age grants disrupted, the rights of smallholder farmers to not have their livestock impounded under colonial-era ordinances, the rights of women in customary marriages, and upholding the rights of rail commuters to safety.
“The composition of the Constitutional Court bench, particularly with respect to judges with different backgrounds and different views on the law, has played an important role in shaping the court’s jurisprudence,” said Ramaphosa.
He said in 2007, former Chief Justice Pius Langa highlighted the centrality of judicial diversity, saying this was not confined solely to an appropriate racial or gender mix, but that a wide range of views and life experiences are represented. Ramaphosa said judicial diversity, Justice Langa said, is likely to increase judicial dissent, and hence improve the quality of decisions.
“Throughout its proud history the court has carried out its work without fear or favour, not hesitating to hold even the most powerful in society to account. An Ipsos poll released earlier this year found that most South Africans view democracy, human rights and the rule of law as universal values that all nations deserve and must aspire towards.
“The majority of respondents also believed that South Africa is a good example of a democracy, and has a responsibility to be a moral leader in the world. This confidence is a result of the abiding trust the public has in our Constitutional Court,” he said.
Ramaphosa said as they celebrate this milestone, they should honour the proud history of the court by continuing to work together as all of society to realise the full promise of their Constitution.
1 February 2025- The Republic of South Africa (RSA), Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on 6 February 2024 at 7pm. The address will take place before a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament.
Ramaphisa spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya said the address is an important milestone as it brings certainty to the country’s political, social and economic landscape. Magwenya said it demonstrates that South Africa’s democracy remains robust.
“In the address, Ramaphosa sets out government’s key policy objectives and deliverables for the year ahead, flag challenges and outline interventions to unlock our nation’s potential.During his address, the President also highlights what has been achieved since his last address in 2023.
“He also reflects on the progress made in implementing the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP). The State of the Nation Address (Sona) is divided into three parts. The first is the important public participation role in the ceremony when the Civil Guard of Honour welcomes the President and his guests as they walk along the red carpet,” he said.
Magwenya further said this is followed by a state ceremonial, which includes a 21-gun salute and the South African Air Force flypast and finally the official address by Ramaphosa. He added that, members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) line the route that Ramaphosa takes to Parliament.
“The Military Guard of Honour participates in the ceremony and the military band plays South Africa’s national anthem. In a general election year, two State of the Nation Addresses are delivered.
“The State of the Nation Address is one of the rare occasions, where the three arms of State, namely the Executive represented by the President, Deputy President and Ministers, the Judiciary, represented by the country’s Chief Justice and the Judge Presidents and the Legislature, represented by the Members of Parliament (MPs) gather in one place,” said Magwenya.
He said the provincial and local spheres of government are also represented.
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