It discriminated against the vast majority of its people, black people in general and African people in particular. We still live with much of this terrible legacy. We are still a fundamentally unequal and deeply divided society where there is race privilege on the one hand, and deep-seated structural inequality on the other. Not all of our people enjoy the human rights which were fought for and which many gave their lives for. The vast majority of our people live in abject poverty and in hunger.
Democracy is incompatible with poverty, crime, violence and the wanton disregard for human life.
Democracy is strengthened and entrenched when society is fully aware of its fundamental human rights and freedoms and consciously lays claim to these. Today our country is a constitutional democracy. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and is adjudicated by the courts and ultimately by the Constitutional Court. The Constitution also provides for the establishment of institutions to protect democracy and promote human rights. These institutions are independent and impartial.