Civil society organisation, the Liberty Fighters Network, has taken offence at a decision by the SCA to hold an appeal hearing virtually, and not in person, in a matter on the validity of lockdown regulations, reports City Press.

Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is set to appeal – virtually as per Covid-19 lockdown guidelines – a judgment made of the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria), which ruled that while declaring a State of Disaster was rational, the overwhelming number of accompanying regulations were irrationally conceived, thus declaring all Disaster Management Act regulations unconstitutional and invalid.

Instead of hearing the matter in person tomorrow, Chief Registrar of the SCA, Christiaan van der Merwe, informed the two parties via e-mail the hearing would be held virtually. 

The Liberty Fighters Network has accused the court of having no legal basis for holding the hearings virtually, especially given that the country is under level one lockdown with no restrictions on courts convening physically.

‘There is a clear absence of any lawful measures in place which could justify such a special deviation,’ and should the court continue to enforce the virtual sitting, this would ‘confirm that this court has become a body, dependent on legislative and executive powers and decisions,’ the network said.

‘This would not only be a violation of the doctrine of separation of powers, it would further, by the same token, confirm that this court lacks the jurisdiction to adjudicate this matter any further … ,’ reads an e-mail sent by the network’s chairperson, Reyno de Beer, on 18 May in response to Van der Merwe’s communique.

However, Van der Merwe clearly states that the respondent and appellant will both have an opportunity to raise any reservations over the proceedings being held virtually at tomorrow's hearing.

‘Grounds for objection to the appeal not being heard in person may be raised during the first part of the virtual hearing. That will include the question of whether there is any prejudice to the respondents and whether, or to what extent, any of their rights have been attenuated,’ reads her e-mail, according to City Press.

De Beer also accused the President of the SCA, Mandisa Maya, of not responding to his organisation’s pleas to have the matter held on an urgent basis.

He states in his correspondence to Van der Merwe, in which Dlamini-Zuma is copied into, that the Liberty Fighters Network has written ‘two letters dated 4 and 13 November 2020 … outlining a need to urgently address the matter and both letters did not receive any response from Maya’.

In response to the respondents the Office of the State Attorney, ‘acting for the appellant’ (Dlamini-Zuma), condemned De Beer’s tone and manner.

‘We object to the respondents seeking to address the court and the SCA President (Maya) directly in the manner they have done, and place on record that we consider the respondents’ communication to be highly inappropriate,’ reads the e-mail from the State Attorney.

Full City Press report