MK’s Attempts to Remove Self-Determination From Constitution Will Backfire, Says CIAG
The Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG) notes with great interest the MK Party’s notice of intention to introduce a Private Member’s Bill to remove section 235, the section on self-determination, from the Constitution.
Whilst the notion of removing self-determination from the South African Constitution is legally absurd and morally repugnant, the MK’s actions may well serve a valuable purpose – to highlight the obligatory legal framework which is binding on South Africa whether it consents or not.
Self-determination is a universally recognised human right and, as a peremptory norm of international law, binding upon all states. Its purpose is to protect the rights of communities from domination – be that from colonial powers or national majorities. It is an essential element of contemporary democracy, and South Africa has signed multiple international treaties in which it has committed to honour the right.
Given the MK’s stance on wanting to replace constitutional democracy with majority rule, and its penchant for ethnic nationalism, it is unsurprising that it wishes to remove the right of self-determination. Self-determination ensures that, even were MK to command a parliamentary super-majority, something Jacob Zuma has openly proposed, minority communities would have a powerful legal remedy through which to defeat them.
What the MK’s Bill will do, however, is place on the official parliamentary record whether South Africa is truly committed to self-determination as the law demands, or whether it simply pays lip service to the right. This has significant legal implications in itself.
The CIAG has been working on legislation to operationalise section 235 for some time, with a draft Bill at an advanced stage. The MK is making the argument that since section 235 hasn’t been operationalised, it should be removed. This sets the stage perfectly to assert that the required action is not the removal of a non-derogable right, it is to make it operational.
Once MK makes its Bill public, the CIAG will make a detailed submission to Parliament.
DATE: 01 April 2026
