In this ground-breaking judgment, the Constitutional Court held that certain provisions of Rica are unconstitutional in so far as Rica fails to provide appropriate safeguards and adequately prescribe procedures in many respects when it comes to undertaking surveillance.
This case brought about by the amaBhugane Centre for Investigative Journalism having approached the Constitutional Court for confirmation of the declaration of unconstitutionality in the 2017 High Court decision.
To this end, the Constitutional Court noted that various provisions of Rica were inadequate and thus unconstitutional in so far as they failed to:
The Constitutional Court ordered that the declaration of unconstitutionality is to take effect immediately and is suspended for a period of 36 months in order to afford Parliament an opportunity to cure the defect causing the invalidity. During this period of suspension, however, the Constitutional Court has read in certain provisions giving effect to the gaps contained in Rica as it currently stands.
In a democratic society founded on the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom, it is vital to ensure that persons be free from intrusions and interference by the State in one’s personal life, and this decision by the Constitutional Court goes a long way to enforce this.