Issued by Christo van der Rheede and Ismail Joosub on behalf of the FW de Klerk Foundation on 09/09/2025

South Africa is reeling from brazen violence that has reached into our courts, municipalities and offices. Whistleblower Babita Deokaran (2021), liquidator Cloete Murray and his son Thomas (2023), attorney Bouwer van Niekerk (2025) and auditor Mpho Mafole (2025) were all murdered for standing between criminal enterprises and accountability. A witness was shot outside Wynberg Magistrates’ Court, four men were gunned down at Overcome Heights (Muizenberg) and about 40 armed men seized the Ramotshere-Moiloa Municipality in the North West. These are only some of the many incidents that now characterise a disturbing pattern of violence. This is not normal. It is a direct assault on the rule of law.

The Constitution binds the state to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights (s 7(2)), including the right to life (s 11) and the right to freedom and security of the person, specifically freedom from all forms of violence (s 12(1)(c)). It mandates the SAPS to prevent, combat and investigate crime and protect and secure the inhabitants (s 205(3)) and requires a single, impartial prosecuting authority (s 179). The legal tools exist: the Prevention of Organised Crime Act of 1998 (notably s 2 which deals with racketeering), the Protected Disclosures Act of 2000 and the Witness Protection Act of 1998. What is missing is decisive execution.

“This is a moral and constitutional emergency,” said Ismail Joosub, Manager of Constitutional Advancement. “South Africa must make it unmistakably clear that the law is stronger than the gun. That means protecting those who stand up to corruption, restoring the credibility of our law-enforcement and prosecutorial institutions and closing the space in which hitmen and their paymasters operate. Above all, citizens must see swift, principled action and honest accountability from those in charge.”

“Where is the President? Where is the Minister of Justice?” Christo van der Rheede, Executive Director. “The country needs clear leadership that unites policing, prosecution and intelligence behind a single national effort, anchored in the Constitution and reported on openly. South Africans deserve visible progress, consistent communication and the assurance that no one is above the law. The framework exists – now we need delivery.”

We must not stumble into the trajectory that Colombia endured in the late 1980s and 1990s – when contract killings, cartel money and criminal infiltration of state organs corroded public trust, terrorised courts and officials and bent local governance to the will of gunmen. South Africa is not there, but the warning signs are unmistakable. Colombia’s eventual recovery demanded years of painful institutional reform and national unity. Our charge is simpler and more urgent: act decisively now – within the Constitution and the law – to prevent a slide towards disorder that would take a generation to reverse.

South Africans cannot be governed by the rule of the gun. We urge President Ramaphosa, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Police to lead a whole-of-state offensive against assassination markets, extortion rackets and gang capture. Enough is enough: protect life, protect witnesses and restore the state’s monopoly on lawful force – so that the rule of law, not fear, determines our future.