Ronald Lamola of South Africa: Justice at the ICJ, injustice at home? | The InnerView

"We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians." Those words of South Africa’s great freedom fighter against Apartheid and first democratically elected President Nelson Mandela have been gaining renewed traction in recent months, ever since South Africa opened a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. The move has had a major impact around the world and has received warm support by those seeking justice for innocent victims in Gaza and the many who question the imbalances of the international order. But at home, the country grapples with soaring crime rates and abysmally low conviction rates, contributing to a loss of faith in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) ahead of upcoming elections. Imran Garda sits down with South Africa’s Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola, who argues that there is no contradiction between South Africa’s championing of the rights of the downtrodden and persecuted in the international legal arena and its own poor record of criminal justice back home. They discuss the track record of the ANC and South Africa’s moral standing at home and abroad exactly 30 years since the end of Apartheid as well as Minister Lamola’s controversial decision to release former President Jacob Zuma, who is now running in those upcoming elections.