Book review: Odendaal, André. Dear Comrade President: Oliver Tambo and the Foundations of South Africa’s Constitution. Cape Town: Penguin Books, 2022. 441 pp. ISBN: 9781776096695

Abstract

Many South Africans, particularly Black Africans, are increasingly disgruntled about the Constitution of the country and its perceived lack of inclusive representation. One of the overarching arguments is that the Constitution should be re-written to be more just. On 27 February 2018, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) tabled a motion in parliament for section 25 Constitution to be amended to allow Land Expropriation Without Compensation (LEWC). The process failed after the National Assembly could not get a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution. Additionally, when the United Democratic Front (UDF) held its 40th anniversary at City Hall in Johannesburg on 19 August 2023, former South African minister of finance Trevor Manuel noted that “the Constitution of the country should be amended so that citizens can hold government accountable, as voices of the general public are not represented”.1 Postapartheid South Africa is, therefore, undergoing a moment of critical introspection, with the Constitution at the centre of many public and scholarly debates.