The attorney for the United Ulama Council South Africa (UUCSA) says the applicants in the matter regarding the constitutionality of the COVID-19 lockdown have conflated the issues of opening the masaajid with the suggestion that it can used as a feeding scheme or Coronavirus testing station.
The matter of Mohammad and two others against the President of South Africa was heard in North Gauteng High in Pretoria on Tuesday.
The applicants say that the closing of the masaajid is a breach of the fundamental rights of South Africans in Chapter two of the constitution.
Attorney Zahir Omar representing the applicants says the fundamental rights were included at Codesa before the country was ushered into a new South Africa.
“We must now test the resilience of our constitution, we test the impartiality of our courts and we test the strength of the chapter two rights. This is a case where the court is going to hear and teach the South African public and the world what and how are Chapter two rights, one of which is the right to worship protected in South Africa.”
However, UUCSA attorney Aslam Moosajee says the applicants are conflating issues to get the court to open the Masaajid.
“One of the grounds that they now relying upon for the urgency is the suggestion that the mosques can be used as a feeding scheme or for testing stations. But if that was their intentions, they wouldn’t have waited until now. They could have done that from the beginning of the lockdown and they could have applied for the necessary permits.”
Moosajee says the primary relief that the applicants are claiming is in relation to congregational prayer in the mosque and not social services.
The matter has been adjourned to Thursday.
Faizel Patel
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