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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

The solution to student food insecurity is a holistic approach

2017-02-10

Description: Dietetics read more Tags: Dietetics read more

Dr Louise van den Berg from the Department of
Nutrition and Dietetics says the University of the Free State
is taking steps to teach students how to budget and make
them aware how important food nutrition is.
Photo: Pixabay

Research at the University of the Free State (UFS) has indicated that nearly 60% of students are victims of food insecurity and suffer from hunger most of the time. The research by the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences shows that a further 25% are food insecure but are not hungry most of the time.

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dr Louise van den Berg, says food insecurity is common among student populations across the world. However, local research shows that it is almost double that of tertiary institutions in developed countries.

Food insecurity among students caught many people off-guard
Dr Van den Berg says in South Africa nobody had really looked at the problem until recently “It seems student food insecurity has caught many people off-guard.” She says people tend to think of tertiary students as a privileged group.

The research has now indicated how deep the problem really is on campus. The students that most likely go hungry are single, male, black or coloured, and are generally first-generation students.

They are also mostly undergraduates, those paying their studies from non-bank loans or bursary means, those not living with their parents or guardians or those that need to support somebody else financially.

The results further indicate that those that are likely to suffer from hunger seldom or never have enough money for food but have to borrow money for food, have to ask for food, sell items to get food or steal food.

“A healthy student is a
successful student.”

Bursary money send back home for parents to survive
Dr Van den Berg agrees that one of the main reasons for the situation is economic stress. Research has shown students rarely spend money on food when resources are scarce. Furthermore, parents of students studying with bursaries are not always able to fully support them on campus. Some students send bursary money back home for their parents to survive.

She says other factors that contribute to campus food insecurity are that all over the world universities have terminated catered food halls due to high costs. “To a large extent this has created a food desert for students and now they need to look after themselves.”

To throw money at the problem does not seem to be the answer.

Students are food-uncertain beings
The research indicates that young people on campus do not know where to buy food, much less the correct, nutritional food they need. Dr Van den Berg says most universities are now aware of the problem and have been taking steps. This includes teaching students how to budget and making them aware how important nutrition is for their success and their responsibility for themselves.

Universities are also looking at private funding for food aid and food schemes. Dr Van den Berg says other solutions are the restructuring of bursary fees, student self-help initiatives and food gardens.

The Faculty of Health Sciences is taking the initiative to manage a food blog on the UFS website. It will also use other social media platforms to post food-preparation videos and recipes for students.

Dr Van den Berg says it is important to grow the 15.6% group of students who indicated they are food secure because a healthy student is a successful student.

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