LJU4801 Portfolio Semester 2 Due 27 October 2023

Question 1
Read the following scenario and answer the questions set out below:

In 2011 the Constitutional Court heard the case of The Citizen 1978 (Pty) Ltd and Others v
McBride (CCT 23/10) 2011 (4) SA 191 (CC). This was a defamation case brought by Robert
McBride against the Citizen newspaper. He alleged that they had defamed him. The
newspaper believed that the comments were covered by freedom of expression. In the
course of his minority Judgment, Mogoeng J made the following remarks:
“[217] Botho or ubuntu is the embodiment of a set of values and moral principles which
informed the peaceful co-existence of the African people in this country who espoused
ubuntu based on, among other things, mutual respect.”

AND

“[243] Indeed, human dignity must colour the spectacles through which we view defamatory
publications, particularly those which are inextricably linked to our painful past. And so
should our rich values, like ubuntu, which are consistent with the Constitution, our shameful
history of institutionalised human rights violations, our commitment to make a decisive break
with this past as well as our pursuit of the noble objectives of national unity and reconciliation
also inform the interpretation and exercise of the rights to dignity, freedom of expression,
privacy and property in this country.”

1.1
In the first paragraph ubuntu is characterised as typically African. Write a brief
essay in which you explain what ubuntu means and indicate whether you think
the judge is right in his characterisation of ubuntu. Your answer should not
exceed 750 words.