This was confirmed by Cabinet Spokesperson, Phumla Williams, who stated that cabinet is still studying the judgment issued against Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. Williams indicated that further comment will be provided once they are done. Whether Cogta will appeal the finding remains to be seen.
The hopes of smokers who believed that the judgment would work in their favour, were dashed when Davis’ order expressly excluded regulations prohibiting the sale of tobacco and related products.
The parties who successfully challenged the lawfulness of South Africa’s lockdown regulations (Levels 3 and 4) are Reyno Dawid De Beer and the Liberty Fighters Network (LFN). In their application, they called Cogta’s regulations ‘irrational’. Davis explained that, when rationality is considered, the focus is placed on whether the regulations are rationally related to their objective.
Constitutional Law expert, Dr Pierre de Vos, pointed towards the crux of the judgment – whether government’s lockdown rules and its detrimental effects to human rights could be justified.
When making such regulations, he indicated, government should begin by asking: “How can we limit Constitutional rights in the least possible way while still protecting our people?”
In making this consideration, Davis considered everyday South Africans that have been severely impacted by the lockdown regulations.
“A single mother and sole provider for her family… must watch her children go hungry while witnessing minicab taxis pass with passengers in closer proximity to each other than they would have been in her salon. She is stripped of her right of dignity, equality, to earn a living and to provide for the best interests of her children.”
“To put it bluntly, it can hardly be argued that it is rational to allow scores of people to run on the promenade, but were one to step a foot on the beach, it would lead to rampant infection.”
“And what about the poor gogo who had to look after four youngsters in a single-room shack during the lockdown period? She may still not take them to the park, even if they all wear masks and avoid other people altogether.
Davis concluded that, when the consequential limitations of basic human rights are considered, the regulations could not be justified as a means of getting towards the end – limiting the spread of Covid-19.
