Mkhwebane calls for South Africa to withdraw from UN, AU conventions

Former Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane has called for South Africa to withdraw from all United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) conventions and rejoin with reservations, following violent protests over the Department of Home Affairs’ directive on asylum applications.

Protests in Durban and Soweto turned violent amid opposition to the directive, which has since been withdrawn.

MKHWEBANE WEIGHS IN ON HOME AFFAIRS ASYLUM DIRECTIVE

Mkhwebane took to X, formerly Twitter, to share her views on the issue.

The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party member described South Africa’s Constitution as the biggest source of the problem.

“We need processing centres of asylum seekers to be kept there until approval. We cannot allow people to roam SA without status or abuse asylum papers,” she wrote.

Mkhwebane also argued that the courts were established to protect constitutional democracy, not to destabilise the country, replace elected government or make far-reaching decisions without considering their consequences.

“About 350 people died after one intervention. Vehicles are burning after another. Communities have revolted, highways have been blocked, and confidence in the judiciary is deteriorating.

“The choice is no longer only between modest court reform and another crisis. It is between abolishing this Constitution and waiting for another judgment to ignite a crisis the country may no longer be able to contain,” she added.

MARCH AND MARCH SUPPORTS CALL

Meanwhile, March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has also called for the government to withdraw from United Nations agreements and hold a referendum on the Constitution.

Ngobese-Zuma said South Africa should not be an option for people who felt unsafe in their home countries.

“We’ve got our own safety concerns, we’ve got our own economic crisis, we’ve got our own problems and ideally now we are going to call for government to withdraw from the United Nations agreements and call for them to have a referendum on the South African Constitution because we can’t glorify a Constitution that does not serve its people,” she said.