And therein lies the folly of unfettered presidential powers especially in the hands of a somewhat Machiavellian character, as the current president seems to be. We have always known that our constitution is flawed, even by the time Bakgatla Kgosi Kgafela came to, and rightly to, pointed this out . Other observers had long made these observations from opposition politicians from PG Matante, through Kenneth Koma, to intellectuals and political experts such as Monageng Mogalakwe, Onalenna Selolwane, Kenneth Good and others.
Given that the drafters of the constitution gave unfettered powers to the president, some advocates of democratic practice had hoped that other arms of government such as parliament and in recent times the judiciary would counterbalance that power. However, while parliament in recent times has seen a much more assertive backbench hence the robust debates especially looking at oversight over executive functions, the judiciary has not taken any opportunity. Many people realised the significance of the Motswaledi finding, which simply meant that the decisions of the president cannot be subject to debate let alone review.
