IT HAS been 30 years since the Interim Constitution ushered in the democratic era. It resulted in a cessation of hostilities and represented a radical rupture with the past, changing the trajectory of the country.
It had, as its guiding principles, respect for human dignity, equality before the law and inclusivity, which stood in stark contrast to previous constitutions that were premised on representation in separate institutions, white supremacy and a hierarchy of dignity based on race, religion and cultural beliefs.
Agreement on the contents of the Interim Constitution was part of the near miraculous transition that the country made from the racist apartheid autocracy to a constitutional democracy.
As the Constitutional Court noted, despite the intense and devastating conflict existing at the time, our leaders, in a few short years, quite remarkably negotiated us away
