BARNEY MTHOMBOTHI: A constitution designed for Mandela, destroyed by Zuma
'We have to admit, even if reluctantly, that our constitution has also turned out to be the soft underbelly of our democracy. It has handed untrammelled power to the president'
We've fallen in love with it; we've paraded it like a newborn baby for all the world to admire. We haven't stopped basking in its glory. It is the bedrock, lodestar and inspiration of our democracy. But we have to admit, even if reluctantly, that our constitution has also turned out to be the soft underbelly of our democracy. It has handed untrammelled power to the president. The word used is "prerogative". It means untouchable. He can't be questioned. It is his right to do as he pleases. The constitution gives him that licence. That was obviously not the intention of the framers of the constitution, nor is it the desire of the millions who see it as a route to a better life and a bastion against oppression.
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