BUTHELEZI: DALAI LAMA JUDGMENT A SETBACK IN OUR HISTORY

I am very disappointed by the outcome of the Dalai Lama case. We brought an application to court to have a court decide whether a government could possibly have the power to bar the entry of someone whose political opinions the government does not like. We feel that this conduct is wrongful, undemocratic and unconstitutional.

For the second time, a court refused to review this conduct and judge whether it is legal for a government to act in this manner.

The judgment rendered avoids the issue in its entirety, adopting a notion of mootness which could have very serious repercussions for our entire system of government. It states that it cannot review past government actions because, effectively, the egg is now broken and cannot be fixed. It then states that it cannot review future government actions because the egg has not yet been broken and, in the future, government may go about things in a manner which doesn't break the egg.

If this type of reasoning were left to stand as a precedent, a large number of executive and administrative actions could become exempt from judicial review even though they are wrongful and illegal.

I know that the competent team of lawyers which generously donated its time and efforts to this noble fight is willing to take the matter further. They have advised me that the judgment is eminently appealable and ought to be appealed for the sake of the country. I will be consulting President Mosiuoa Lekota on the way forward.

On my side, I remain as committed as ever to ensure that justice is done in a matter which has generated overwhelming and widespread domestic and international outrage.

I wish to thank all those who laboured hard in this case and the thousands of people who publically and privately expressed support for what we did.

Statement issued by IFP President, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, February 3 2012

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