FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Civil society organisations applaud Minister Xingwana's stance that the TCB is unconstitutional The Alliance for Rural Democracy applauds Minister Xingwana’s submission to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) today. The Minister stated, in no uncertain terms, that the Traditional Courts Bill (Bill) is unconstitutional in its current form. We welcome her plea to the NCOP, to not rush the passing of this Bill and to further consult rural communities - particularly women – as well as other marginalised groups such as gays and lesbians, people with disabilities, and children. Throughout the public hearings all the submissions from civil society organisations have called for the Bill to be scrapped. Community members present in Parliament, speaking from their own lived experiences, have highlighted the implications of giving more powers to traditional leaders. Thabo Manyathi, from the Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA), says that “Since 1979 we have fought against forced removals. Our struggle continues today as we still live with this apartheid legacy, which the Bill will entrench. The Bill is unconstitutional and we urge members of Parliament to consult the people, and think through how this law will impact on our lives.” William Mnyande from AFRA says, “Politicians don’t listen to people’s experiences. Their hubris is costly to ordinary people. They can go ahead and ignore us, but they do so at their own peril”. “Chief Mhinga detained people for days and nights in a cement store room. Is this traditional justice? This Bill will only strengthen the power of these brutal chiefs”, says Lamson Maluleke, of the Makhuleke community. This is just one example of the contested chieftaincies and related abuses of power that exist across the country. Recently, traditional leaders have made several calls that are unconstitutional. Amongst these are discriminatory statements against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBTI) people by some of the members of the National House of Traditional Leaders. Funeka Soldaat from Freegender says that, “As black lesbians we have heard traditional leaders speak about us in derogatory a manner. Chief Ndevu was on national television and called us Satanists, and this is happening even before the Bill has been passed. What will happen when traditional leaders have more powers?”. We also welcome the voices of other powerful women, such as Cheryl Carolus and Thandi Orleyn from Peotona, who made a submission calling for the scrapping of the Bill its entirety. We agree with Orleyn’s reading that the Bill is a “cut and paste job, and a bad one at that”. The Alliance for Democracy urges the NCOP to listen to the voices of the many people who reject this Bill, and who have come from across the country to make themselves heard. We agree with Minister Xingwana’s assertion that Parliament must not pass this Bill as it will only replace apartheid legislation with another law that is equally discriminatory. The public hearings on the Bill continue tomorrow. END 20 September 2012 For more information contact: Nomboniso Gasa: 083 451 9321 or 083 7791435 Sizani Ngubane: 073 8405151 Mbuyiselo Botha: 082 5181177 The Alliance for Rural Democracy (ARD) is a cross-section of civil society organisations sharing a common concern about the detrimental effects that the Traditional Courts Bill will have on the rural constituencies they serve and support. The ARD includes the following organisations: Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA); Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria; Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape (CLC);Corruption Watch; Co-operative Policy Alternative Centre (COPAC); Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC);Democratic Governance and Rights Unit, University of Cape Town (DGRU); Embrace Dignity Campaign; Empilisweni AIDS Education and Training Centre; Greater Rape Intervention Programme (GRIP);Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR);Justice and Women (JAW); Land Access Movement of South Africa (LAMOSA);Law Race and Gender Research Unit, University of Cape Town (LRG); Lesbian and Gay Equality Project; Masimanyane Women’s Support Centre; Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC);Rural People’s Movement; Rural Women’s Movement; Section 27; Sonke Gender Justice; South African Constitutional Literacy and Service Initiative (CLASI); Students for Law and Social Justice (SLSJ); Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Project (TVEP);Treatment Action Campaign (TAC);Triangle Project; Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre (TLAC); Unemployed People’s Movement; Women's Health Research Unit in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town; Women’s Legal Centre Trust. The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) acts as legal advisor to the Alliance. .