Strengthen institutions for stronger societies

IN RECENT weeks, we have witnessed an unprecedented explosion of corruption revelations.

- SISEKO MAPOSA.

From Mkhwanazi to disbarred advocate Teffo’s disclosures alleging collusion between police services, investigative bodies, government officials, criminal syndicates, and the judiciary, our nation has been shaken to its core. The response has been paradoxical.

On one level, these revelations have been met with unsettling normalcy. South Africans broadly accept that the state is crippled by graft. This resignation reflects a dangerous adaptation to systemic failure. Yet, they have also been treated as incontrovertible truth, bypassing formal institutional processes.

Verdicts have been swiftly delivered, at least in. the court of public opinion. Herein lies the tension: a public simultaneously jaded by corruption yet eager to condemn, often without trial.

The court of public opinion is both a marvel and a menace. On one hand, it is a byproduct of a functioning democracy, where views and ideas are freely exchanged under the protections of liberty, including a free press. This arena of accountability is vital when institutions falter. On the other hand, it yields profoundly dangerous and undemocratic consequences. Its power lies in speed and emotion, not evidence or procedure.