YVONNE'S TAKE: Let's shelve the Constitution!

Let’s just admit it—we’re not a nation governed by the rule of law. We’re governed by vibes and the whims of those in power.

The deputy inspector general of police, a man entrusted with enforcing the law, ignores not one but several court summons.

Apparently, court orders are optional now, like choosing between tea and coffee. Nice if you can afford it. Totally fine if you skip it.

Then there are senior members of the executive—some of whom are even scholars of law—making public pronouncements that exist in some alternate legal universe.

Meanwhile, in the streets, police continue to meet protesters with bullets. Not restraint. Not dialogue. Not a procedure. Bullets.

Because apparently, it’s easier to kill a citizen than to arrest them, present them in court, and let due process take its course. Who has time for that?

And the real kicker?
When someone’s loved one is abducted or disappears, they—the grieving, the scared, the desperate—are told to follow due process. To file reports. Habeas corpus applications in court. To be patient. Wait.

Wait… for what?
Justice? That seems to be on annual leave.

Now, in an even more impressive display of state gymnastics, we have lawmakers proposing amendments to the law to make protests even harder to hold. Because, of course, it’s the protestors who are the problem. Not the police who shoot at them. Not the state that ignores their demands.

No, the real threat is the citizen exercising a constitutional right.

Let’s not hold to account the security agencies, who taxpayers pay billions to keep us safe, even during protests.

No.
Let’s put that responsibility on the protestors instead. Blame the people for being shot at. Criminalise anger. Regulate outrage.

This, in the same country where authorities regularly claim the power to ban protests, even though the law gives them no such authority. None. Protestors are only required to inform the police, not seek their permission.

Maybe we just declare it officially: the rule of law has been suspended until further notice. You know, like in The Purge. That lovely little dystopian film where, for 12 hours, all laws are suspended and people are free to do whatever they want. No arrests. No accountability. No consequences.

We could even adopt it as national policy. Every year, we pick a few days when everyone is free to settle scores. You wronged me? I shoot. You stole from the public? Loot back. Don’t worry about courts or the Constitution. We’ve already shown we don’t take them seriously anyway.

Because what is the Constitution, really, if not a beautifully bound book we like to quote—but never follow? A document we only reference when it suits us?

Or, we could get serious.

We could stop playing these dangerous games with our institutions. We could hold everyone to account—from the junior constable to the senior-most political official. We could demand that if justice applies to one, it applies to all. Equally. Without exception.

But that would take courage. And right now, I’m not sure the people in charge have any left.