Restricting apartheid flag sets the tone for nation building

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Deputy Judge President of the South Gauteng Division of the High Court, Justice Phineas Mojapelo, delivered the judgment in the Equality Court on Wednesday.

He ruled that the gratuitous display of the apartheid flag demonstrates a clear intention to be hurtful, harmful and incites harm, promotes and incites hatred against black people in terms of the Equality Act.

Mabuza welcomed the judgment in his capacity as patron of the Moral Regeneration Movement. He is delegated by the President the responsibility of facilitating social cohesion initiatives.

He said the judgment sets the right tone for all South Africans to work towards building the South Africa of their dreams.

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“A South Africa whose very foundation is centred on equality, as well as civil and political freedoms. A South Africa that is non-racial, non-sexist and is not held to any form of past bondages and symbols that undermine these values.

“The judgment further reaffirms the supremacy of the Constitution and the centrality of national unity, nation building and social cohesion,” said the Deputy President.

Mabuza said the judgment unambiguously communicates that no rights are above other rights.

“The project of nation building by its nature has elements of fragility. In our efforts to heal the wounds of the past and building a society that is cohesive, we must at all material times be mindful of our actions, especially as they relate to the pain and scars inflicted by the past,” said Mabuza.