Freedom Day

Press Release - President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead the national celebration of Freedom Day on Wednesday, 27 April 2022, as South Africa marks 28 years of ...

Today, South Africa seeks to realise the constitutional vision of a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law. Only accredited media will have access to the stadium. Freedom Day allows South Africans from all walks of life and backgrounds to renew their commitment to the ongoing transformation of our society and to celebrate the country's sovereignty and identity as part of healing the divisions of the past.

The public holiday is a commemoration of the day South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994.

“Today, South Africa seeks to realise the constitutional vision of a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law. “Part of the backdrop to Freedom Day 2022 is the 25th anniversary of South Africa’s Constitution, the country’s ending of the Covid-19 national state of disaster, the response currently to a natural disaster in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, and the implementation of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan,” the President’s office said. “Freedom Day allows South Africans from all walks of life and backgrounds to renew their commitment to the ongoing transformation of our society and to celebrate the country’s sovereignty and identity as part of healing the divisions of the past.

Freedom Day needs to be used by South Africans to renew their commitment to correcting their country's faults.

Of critical importance for the meaningfulness of the day are the democratic dividends which should spawn a good society. The process of establishing a democratic system in South Africa involved establishing political and governance systems based on the supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law, where equality became one of the organising principles of the post-apartheid society. It is because of this that Freedom Day is becoming increasingly derided by many in the cynicism which has percolated into a grievance. And the days that mark its anniversary often create incendiary moments where the grimace of discontent – particularly on the faces of those who are in the margins of society – finds expression. Surging socioeconomic disparities affront the very notion of a good society. In other words, is this day still worthy of commemoration?

The Foundation for Human Rights says South Africans are justified in their frustrations as the country prepares to celebrate Freedom Day on Wednesday.

"One the one hand these have very real material drivers - inequality, lack of opportunity, poverty. "It's a collective failure. But it is still worth celebrating."