Re: Makashule Gana’s public statements on 30 March 2020

30 March 2020

To the Federal Executive of the Democratic Alliance,

This morning, Makashule Gana — a member of your party and a representative of the Democratic Alliance in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature — retweeted a video of SANDF and SAPS officers forcing civilians to do squats and ‘jump frogs’ while being manhandled, ostensibly as punishment for their violations of the national lockdown regulations. Commenting on the video, Mr Gana wrote:

“This is the best way to deal with them. People must learn to listen and STAY Home. What's so difficult with staying Home.”

After being criticized by other Twitter users, Mr Gana doubled down on his position, tweeting:

“They must be humiliated so that they stay home, else jump frog home. I don’t feel anything for people who refuse to listen.”

This is the best way to deal with them. People must learn to listen and STAY Home. What's so difficult with staying Home. https://t.co/mRzGKwH01d

— Makashule Gana (@Makashule) March 30, 2020

We believe Mr Gana’s comments not only violate the Constitution of the Republic and the Bill of Rights but are also unbecoming of a senior member of a political party that claims to espouse the values and principles of liberalism.

Section 10 of the Constitution — reflecting a key principle of liberal philosophy as articulated by Immanuel Kant — provides that everyone has inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity protected. Mr Gana’s statement claims the opposite: it seems that he believes that whether citizens should have their dignity protected is contingent on whether they are obeying the lockdown to his satisfaction.

Section 12 of the Constitution — again reflecting the liberal idea of the supremacy of the freedom and bodily autonomy of the individual — provides that everyone has the right to freedom and security of the person, which includes the right not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhuman or degrading way. Mr Gana contends that it is appropriate to degrade and (in his own words) ‘humiliate’ people to punish them for violating the lockdown regulations.

Section 35(3) of the Constitution — which again reflects key liberal values — provides that those who are accused of breaking the law have the right to a fair trial. Furthermore, no one can be punished by the state without having been found guilty in a fair trial. Mr Gana seemsto believe that it is appropriate for the military to punish people by degrading them without their having been found guilty of an offence by a court.

As young people who strive to advocate for and defend the principles of liberalism in South Africa, we are concerned that members of your party — an ostensibly liberal party — are taking to social media to promote the unjustifiable undermining of individuals’ dignity and freedom. Of course, we support Mr Gana’s right to say what he wants. But he mustn’t claim to be a liberal if he wants to speak like a fascist. And the DA must not claim to be liberal if its members are free to speak like fascists.

We call on you, as the leaders of the DA, to publicly denounce Mr Gana’s tweets and to distance the party from them. We also call on Mr Gana to apologise, or resign if he refuses to apologise. It will not be difficult for him to find a more suitable political home in South Africa if his illiberal tweets are truly reflective of his ideological convictions.

Yours in freedom,

Progress SA, 30 March 2020