CHRIS ROPER: Don’t dice with the death penalty
Do South Africans really want to hand the power of life and death to a government that can’t even be trusted to keep the lights on, and a judicial system hollowed out by years of state capture?
And yet again, someone is asking us to give our government the right to kill its citizens. In an opinion piece by News24 journalist and former Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha, he says he’ll only vote for a political party that brings back the death penalty.
“[South Africa’s] abnormally high crime levels require equally drastic and abnormal measures to arrest,” he writes. “For my vote, I demand a referendum on imposing the death penalty. The people of South Africa, sitting ducks with each one waiting for their turn to be robbed, raped or murdered, have every right to decide whether the current constitution adequately serves them ... Criminals who take the lives of and rape innocent citizens have forfeited the ‘right to life’ ... I want a referendum to mandate parliament to amend the Bill of Rights of the constitution to implement the death penalty for these violent crimes of murder and rape.”..
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
This article is free to read if you sign up or sign in.
If you have already registered or subscribed, please sign in to continue.
Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.