Probing into the scourge of socio-economic injustices in South Africa: How a corrupt political elite ushered the phrase “[w]e, the people of South Africa” into obscurity and oblivion

Probing into the scourge of socio-economic injustices in South Africa: How a corrupt political elite ushered the phrase “[w]e, the people of South Africa” into obscurity and oblivion

Avitus A. Agbor & Rorisang Matlala

Issue: Vol. 7 No.7 2026 Article 23 pp. 2061 – 2072
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20267723 Published online 23rd September 2026

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ABSTRACT

Like most democracies in Africa and other parts of the world, the words “We, the people of South Africa” feature in the Constitution not only as symbolic of popular sovereignty and from which the source of public power is derived, but also in connection with the Constitution’s stated objectives. This article examines how grand corruption by South Africa’s political elite has undermined the constitutional promise in the Preamble’s phrase “[w]e, the people of South Africa,” especially concerning socio-economic justice. It analyses the Constitution, Constitutional Court jurisprudence, selected legislation, international and regional human rights instruments, scholarly literature, and publicly available materials on corruption. The article finds that although the 1996 Constitution entrenches popular sovereignty, social justice, and justiciable socio-economic rights, post-apartheid governance has often failed to translate these commitments into material equality. Grand corruption, weak political will, and compromised public institutions divert resources from healthcare, housing, education, water, social security, and infrastructure. This deepens inherited apartheid inequalities and pushes the constitutional phrase into obscurity. The article recommends stronger anti-corruption enforcement, integrity-based public leadership, transparent procurement, institutional accountability, and policy implementation centred on socio-economic rights. This study contributes to constitutional and human rights scholarship by connecting the Preamble’s language of popular sovereignty to the governance duties required for social and economic justice in South Africa.

Keywords: Socio-economic injustices, Constitution of South Africa, political will, grand corruption, inequality, South Africa’s democratic dispensation.

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ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Avitus A Agbor is a Research Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, North-West University, Mahikeng Campus. Email: Avitus.Agbor@nwu.ac.za

Rorisang Matlala is a Lecturer, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa. Email: Rorisang.Matlala@mandela.ac.za.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Agbor, Avitus A., and Rorisang Matlala. “Probing into the scourge of socio-economic injustices in South Africa: How a corrupt political elite ushered the phrase “[w]e, the people of South Africa” into obscurity and oblivion.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 7, no.7 (2026): 2061 – 2072. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20267723