Hello Brian, I have read your petition. I see the work you put into. This is not the work of a spectator. It is the work of a citizen who believes he has found something - a constitutional key that others have missed. Unfortunately you have not, and because the moment is perilous, I owe you honesty, not applause.
1. Section 117(1) Does Not Do What You Think It Does: You argue that Section 117(1) - "legislative authority is derived from the people" requires Parly to obtain a separate, express grant of authority before amending the Constitution. You say the consultation report revealed two contesting views, and therefore the people have not given permission. Parly must stop. A referendum must be held first.
Mari, Section 117(1) is a foundational clause. It declares the source of legislative authority. It does not require a fresh grant of permission for every Act. The Constitution, in S. 117(2), already confers on Parly the power "to amend this Constitution in accordance with section 328." That is the grant. Parliament already has it. The question is not whether Parliament has authority. It does. The question is whether it is exercising that authority in accordance with S. 328.
Your reading would require a referendum on every constitutional amendment - because the people's authority is always the source. But Section 328 distinguishes between amendments that require a referendum and those that do not. Your argument collapses that distinction. It is not what the Constitution provides.
2. Consultation Is Not Permission: You argue that because the consultation revealed two contesting views, Parliament's authority is incomplete. No. Consultation is a procedural step under S. 328(4). It ensures the public's views are heard. It does not transfer the power of decision from Parliament to the public. The fact that some citizens - many citizens - oppose the Bill does not, by itself, strip Parliament of its constitutional authority to proceed. If it did, no controversial legislation could ever be passed.
And on the consultation report - you attach it as annexure BBTM3. The same report records 67,688 written submissions from 54,231 attendees. That is a mathematical impossibility. The email submissions went against the Bill by nearly two to one. If you are going to rest your argument on the committee's report, you must reckon with the fact that the report itself is evidence of fraud. Your petition treats it as a neutral document. It is not!!!
3. The Electoral Act Does Not Govern Constitutional Amendments: You invoke Section 3(a) of the Electoral Act - "the authority to govern derives from the will of the people demonstrated through elections." You argue this requires a secret ballot - a referendum. But the Electoral Act governs elections. It does not govern constitutional amendments. The Constitution governs constitutional amendments. And the Constitution, in Section 328, specifies exactly when a referendum is required. You cannot import the Electoral Act into S. 328 to create a requirement the Constitution does not contain!!!
4. Your Petition Omits the Strongest Argument - Section 328(7): This is the most critical point, Brian, and I need you to hear it. The strongest legal argument against
#CAB3 is Section 328(7) - the incumbent-protection clause. Madhuku has already argued it before the ConCourt. The 210 applications are built on it. It is the firewall. Your petition does not mention it. Not once!!! You have constructed an entirely separate constitutional theory - one that is novel, untested, and unlikely to succeed - while the strongest argument is already before the courts. This does not strengthen the resistance. It fragments it!!!
5. Your Petition Will Not Stop
#CAB3, and It May Do Damage: Parly is not bound by a citizen's petition under Section 149. It must consider it. It will table it. It will note it. And given the current composition of that House - captured, whipped & bribed - it will dismiss it!!! When it does, the Cabal will cite that dismissal as proof that the constitutional arguments against
#CAB3 are without merit. They will conflate your Section 117 theory with the Section 328(7) argument and claim both have been rejected. Your petition, however sincere, hands the Cabal a propaganda victory without extracting any legal cost.
Let me frankly with you,Brian
I do not question your sincerity, You have exercised your rights. You have done more than most citizens ever do. You have engaged the law, and that is commendable. But sincerity is not strategy. And this petition, whatever its intentions, does not advance the cause of stopping
#CAB3. It muddies the legal waters at a moment when clarity is everything. The fight is in the ConCourt. It is in the High Court. It is in the 210 applications. It is in the parliamentary resistance. That is where the Constitution will be upheld. Not by a petition that misreads Section 117, ignores Section 328(7), and hands the enemy a stick to beat us with.
The Constitution will be upheld. But not by this. Not today!!! Not this way!!!