NPO to hold Dlamini-Zuma in contempt of court for lockdown regulations



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On the eve of a new and hopefully improved year, at least two civil society organizations are opposing cooperative governance and tight shutdown Level 3 regulations of the traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

The non-profit organization Liberty Fighters Network (LFN) aims to hold Dlamini-Zuma in contempt of court, its president Reyno De Beer said earlier this month, after sending an urgent letter to the minister.

The threat of possible arrest also looms, and the LFN says contempt of court is a criminal offense.

Reports also indicate that Lawyers for Black is in Superior Court on Thursday, seeking more information about the legality of the meetings and fears that the police will intimidate residents on private property.

The LFN’s argument relates to the June 2 court order in which Judge Norman Davis found that various norms set forth in the Disaster Management Act violated basic human rights and were therefore declared unconstitutional and invalid. .

After the ruling, Davis gave Dlamini-Zuma 14 days to review, change, and republish the opposing Level 3 lockdown regulations.

ALSO READ: WATCH: The Impact of Beach Closures on Physical Education Affects Residents

But Dlamini-Zuma chose instead to request authorization to appeal against the entire sentence, which the LFN, as well as the Hola Bon Renaissance Foundation, opposed.

Permission to appeal was granted by Davis, but according to a statement issued by De Beer, Dlamini-Zuma did not file its appeal, which for the LFN means that the beach closures are no longer relevant.

“On September 11, 2020, the Supreme Court of Appeal granted the minister permission to appeal to those parties that the Pretoria High Court had originally excluded. However, according to the Rules of the Supreme Court of Appeal, the Minister also had to present her formal appeal against those parties.

“The fact that it does not do so now means that all regulations related to the closure of businesses and, of course, beaches and parks, have become legally unconstitutional and invalid,” De Beer explained.

Dlamini-Zuma had, according to De Beer, until October to file his appeal. De Beer said that he allowed him until noon on December 20 to open all the beaches, “and adapt the Regulations to the Constitution,” but no such retraction was made to the regulations.

They said this would invalidate the illegality of the sale and consumption of alcohol.

But de Beer didn’t stop there.

He went on to say that because contempt of court is a criminal offense, “a court may even consider that its own confinement may be timely.”

Therefore, the LFN has considered that the beach parties are frank from 1:00 p.m. on December 20, and said before the new ban imposed on the consumption and sale of alcohol that alcohol could be sold at any time and could not be penalized. sanctioned under the regulations of the Disaster Management Law.

Dlamini-Zuma defended the government’s decision to close the beaches during the holiday season against the Great Brak River Business Forum and AfriForum just a week ago.

He stood firm in the government’s attempts to strike a balance between lives and livelihoods, saying that too many beachy regions have now been declared hotspots, such as Garden Route and KwaZulu-Natal.

The LFN was not immediately available for comment. Updates to follow as more information becomes available.

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