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Winter School confronts the crisis of democratic constitutionalism in Africa

21 August 2024 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

Law Winter School 2024 — Participants in the Winter School on African Constitutionalism had the opportunity to acquire the latest knowledge and information on African constitutionalism.

The African Network of Constitutional Lawyers (ANCL) and the Faculty of Law of the University of the Free State (UFS) recently hosted a Winter School on African Constitutionalism titled Confronting the 'Crisis' of Democratic Constitutionalism in Africa. According to Khanya Motshabi, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Law and Strategy Lead: UFS Reparation Hub at the UFS, the 2024 Winter School is a first for Africa.

Motshabi said the aim of the winter school, which was attended by members of the UFS University Management Committee, academia, students, experts in constitutional law, law practitioners, and justices of the Constitutional Court of Zambia, was to gather prominent and emerging African intellectuals, practitioners, judges, and policy drivers to assess the state of democratic constitutionalism in Africa. “We wanted to explore the progress and failures of the past decades, place African developments in a global context, analyse current problems, and propose solutions for building an African version of democratic constitutionalism that reflects its unique circumstances, challenges, experiences, and popular preferences,” he commented.

Prof Anthea Rhoda, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, attended the event, providing opening remarks and emphasising the alignment of the winter school with the university’s Vision 130. She highlighted the university's commitment to social justice and its broader mission to impact society by addressing persistent social problems and fostering transformation across the African continent. “Our vision alludes to the fact that universities are expected to play an important role in providing skills, building the economy, solving persistent social problems, and transforming our post-apartheid society,” she remarked, adding that the discussion and input of this winter school are not only focused on South Africa, but also aim to confront the issue of democratic constitutionalism across the African continent.

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation, who also attended the event, said, “This is a highly prestigious meeting that brings a great gathering of African scholars and judges from an apex court in Zambia to Free State soil. A meeting such as yours offers excellent opportunity to think more deeply about African constitutionalism that triggers further engagement on continental development, law, society, and politics.”

Prof Reddy also commented on the theme of confronting the crisis of democratic constitutionalism: “You engage an important theme and topic. ‘Crisis’ is an important word and presents possibilities. Not only does it describe the challenges and dangers of wicked problems facing us, but central to its meanings are also the opportunities at our disposal.”

Decline in constitutional democracy

The ANCL and the UFS Faculty of Law are concerned that although constitutional democracy has grown over the past 30 years, it has declined in the past decade. Regimes maintain the appearance of democracy while ignoring its fundamental principles, such as free and fair elections and the rights to speech, expression, and association. Anyango Oyieke, ANCL Secretary-General, noted that effective constitutional democracy requires not only institutional arrangements, but also an active civil society, strong political parties, and a culture that tolerates differences and exercises power with restraint.

Motshabi and Oyieke believe that despite varied democratic experiences in Africa, many countries have seen a decline in democratic governance marked by constitutional manipulation, intimidation, flawed elections, and military coups. Even where elections are credible, the winner-takes-all mentality undermines governance and delivery of basic needs. High levels of insecurity, stalled poverty reduction, and worsening youth unemployment contribute to a preference for military regimes over democracy. Motshabi and Oyieke observe that the African Union and Regional Economic Communities struggle to fulfil their democratic promises, undermining the legitimacy of democracy and putting constitutionalism and governance in crisis.

The event addressed several key thematic areas, including the development of a theory of African constitutionalism, examining the historical context of constitutionalism and nation-building, and integrating decolonisation within constitutional theory. Discussions also covered human rights and constitutionalism, the establishment of institutions to secure democracy, how effective dictators think, and the use of constitutional petitions as tools to entrench constitutionalism. Additionally, the role of elections and electoral processes in a constitutional democracy was explored, along with the impact of undemocratic changes of government on the principles of constitutionalism.

Valuable insights on African constitutionalism

Frontline constitutional scholars of African descent and colleagues from around the world brought the latest knowledge and valuable insights into African constitutionalism.

Dr Gerard Kamga, Division Coordinator: Research and Postgraduate Programmes in the Free State Centre for Human Rights and Programme Director for Research and Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Law, delivered three sessions. The first two sessions explored The Mechanics of (Un)Constitutional Power Transfer in Postcolonial Africa: the case of Françafrique. Dr Kamga’s third session addressed Currency, Constitutionalism, and Sovereignty. On the second day, Prof Charles Fombad, Professor of Law and Director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria, presented on Towards a Theory of African Constitutionalism. Prof Danie Brand, Director of the Centre for Human Rights and acting Judge of the High Court of South Africa, contributed a presentation on Constitutionalism and Transformation in Africa.

Motshabi himself led sessions on Confronting the Past: Constitutionalism and the Making of a Nation State and Decolonisation and Constitutional Theory. From beyond South African borders, Prof Azubike Onuora-Oguno, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ilorin and a solicitor and advocate of the Nigerian Supreme Court, discussed Human Rights and Constitutionalism. Oyieke covered How to be a dictator, which analysed how effective dictators think and undermine constitutional democracy. Prof Wahab Egbewole, Professor in the Faculty of Law and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, as well as senior advocate in the Nigerian Supreme Court, spoke on Unconstitutional Change of Government. Prof Tameshnie Deane, Vice-Dean: Research and Postgraduate Studies of the UFS Faculty of Law, delivered the final session on Constitutional Petitions as a Tool for Entrenching Democracy.

Democratic governance on the continent

Motshabi concluded that the one-week course aimed to fill an important gap by offering participants the chance to acquire the latest knowledge and information on African constitutionalism. The course provided an analytical and critical appraisal of current issues and the unique opportunity to conceptualise solutions while practising the art of networking. By developing a collaborative environment, the winter school not only highlighted the progress and failures of the past decades, but also encouraged the development of innovative solutions tailored to Africa's unique circumstances. This initiative marks a significant step towards building a strong and dependable system for democratic governance on the continent.

News Archive

Teachers should deal with diversity in education - Prof. Francis

2010-10-08

At the occasion were, from the left: Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS); Prof. Francis; and Prof. Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector: Teaching and Learning at the UFS.
Photo: Jaco van der Merwe

Prof. Dennis Francis, the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of the Free State (UFS), recently delivered his inaugural lecture on Troubling Diversity in South African Education on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

He urged teachers to be open to what “diversity” might mean in a particular context and how diversity relates to either inclusion or exclusion.

“An approach that promotes the inclusion of all must be based on an understanding of how exclusion operates in ways that may have typical patterns of oppression, but differ in the specific ways that exclusion is expressed and becomes normalised in that context,” he said.

“The good teacher thus seeks to understand how these forms of exclusion may develop in the school’s context and respond through taking thoughtful action to challenge them. It may require creating a climate that enables the silent to speak and recognising that not all groups communicate in exactly the same ways.”

He said teachers also had to affirm the experiential base of learners and students. He said there was an assumption that students would be more effective practitioners if their own experience were validated and explored.

“It is crucial that the students’ own history is treated as valuable and is a critical part of the data that are reflected,” he said. “Equally important is that such stories and similar activities are intentionally processed to enable students to make the connections between personal experience and relevant theory.”

He also urged them to challenge the ways in which knowledge had been framed through oppression.

“Schools are often characterised by messages that draw on one or another form of oppression. Thus, expectations are subtly or in some cases unsubtly communicated, e.g. that girls are not good at physics, or that, while white learners are strong in abstract thought, African learners have untapped creativity, and so on,” he continued.

“For someone to integrate into their role as educators a commitment against oppression means confronting obstacles that one may previously have shied away from, such as challenging authority, naming privilege, emphasising the power relations that exist between social groups, listening to people one has previously ignored, and risking being seen as deviant, troublesome or unpopular.”

Furthermore, Prof. Francis said dealing with diversity in education was always affectively loaded for both students and teachers. He said in South Africa one injunction from educators was to be “sensitive” and thus avoid risking engagement with the contentious issues around imbalances of power.

“If both students and teachers are to confront issues of oppression and power in any meaningful way, we need to design more purposely for the difficulties they will encounter, for example, creating a classroom environment that promotes safety and trust so that all students are able to confront and deal with prejudice and discrimination. Classroom environments will need to balance the affective and cognitive in addressing issues of diversity and social justice,” he added.

He also said that teachers should recognise the need to complement changing attitudes with attempts to change the structural aspects of oppressions.

“To prevent superficial commitments to change, it is important for students to explore barriers that prevent them from confronting oppressive attitudes and behaviours. In this way students are able to learn and see the structural aspects of oppression,” he said.

“Equally important, however, is to get students to examine the benefits associated with challenging oppression. A fair amount of time must therefore be spent on developing strategies with students which they will be able to use practically in challenging oppression.”

He also advised educators to affirm the capacity of staff and learners to act and learn in ways that do not replicate patterns of oppression.

“Many South African schools have survived both the harsh repression of apartheid and the continuing legacy of oppression of various kinds. Despite that, we are often as educators made aware of the ways in which young people in particular affirm themselves and each other in creative and confident ways,” he concluded.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (acg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
7 October 2010

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