‘Madiba never sold out’: Thuli Madonsela defends Nelson Mandela’s legacy

Former public protector Thuli Madonsela has defended the legacy of former president and the father of South Africa’s democracy Nelson Mandela.

Madonsela defends Madiba and the Constitution

Madonsela said there were people who kept on saying that Madiba had “sold out” which she described as a lie. She was speaking on the spaces platform through the Thuli Madonsela Foundation on Sunday night.

“The ANC document that the ANC came with under the PLS Oliver Tambo was developed in 1988 Mandela was in jail. They (ANC) already had a bill of rights and in that bill of rights there are some progressive things like certain things they say these things must be done instead of may be done. I just wanted to lay to rest that public lie about Nelson Mandela having sold out. Anyone who says that lied to you,” she said.

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Madonsela said for the benefits of the South African Constitution to be fully realised, the entire blue print needs to be put into effect.

She said the Constitution enabled South Africans to free themselves.

“We just got freedom to unfree ourselves if we do not move the frontiers of freedom then we are just left with political freedom and legal freedom and we do not have social freedom and economic freedoms and the absence of these other freedoms will undermine the freedoms which we think we have,” she said.

Madonsela said South Africa had one of the most advanced constitutions in the world.

She said she herself was part of a group of legal experts behind the cobbling of the South African Constitution in 1996.

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The debate over the South African Constitution has been raging since its inception with some political parties such as the PAC and the EFF challenging some aspects of the Constitution. ANC members such as Lindiwe Sisulu have also criticised the Constitution.

The Constitution and morality

According to Madonsela the Constitution also made it clear that leaders who stand for public office should be morally upright individuals whose character should contain dignified aspects.

“If you think about people to send to parliament when you make your decision on May 29, please don’t just consider that they do not have a criminal record because not having a criminal record simply means you have not been caught by the police. What our Constitution wants is that we have people with high morality elected into public office,” she said.