Public hearings or public intimidation?

THE chaos that has characterised Parliament-led public hearings on Constitutional Amendment No 3 Bill speaks less to democracy and more to organised intimidation.

What should be platforms for citizen engagement have instead become arenas of fear, where participation comes with risk and dissent is treated as provocation.

Across several venues, reports have emerged of citizens who attempted to speak against the Bill being bashed, harassed or — if fortunate — simply thrown out of meeting halls.

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