SHARPEVILLE TO HOST 10 000: SACR TAKES CONSTITUTION TO THE PEOPLE
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
PRETORIA — From a 7-member legal axe to a 10 000-strong people's Imbizo. South Africans for Constitutional Reform (SACR) is no longer asking for a seat at the table. It has built its own.
On Saturday, 19 September 2026, SACR will host the inaugural SACR National Imbizo at George Thabe Stadium in Sharpeville, under the theme: "30 Years of the Constitution: What Has It Delivered, Where Has It Fallen Short, and What Must Change?"
The choice of Sharpeville is not accidental. The same soil that bled for freedom in 1960 will now host a national citizen dialogue on whether that freedom has delivered.
This is the next chapter of a story The Azanian has been tracking.
On 27 August, we reported that SACR had sharpened the legal axe — announcing a 7-member Legal Advisory Panel of distinguished legal practitioners to professionalise its structures and drag Parliament to court over Sections 59 and 72 of the Constitution. That announcement, published on http://sacr.org.za, declared war on tick-box public participation.
That war is now moving from courtrooms to the community.
According to a MEDIA STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE issued from Johannesburg on 14 September 2026, thousands of South Africans are expected to descend on Sharpeville for a national citizen dialogue on the future of South Africa's constitutional democracy.
The Imbizo is the culmination of SACR's national constitutional review campaign, which in 2026 mobilised 135 595 verified South Africans across all nine provinces and resulted in 17 proposed constitutional amendments being formally submitted to Parliament.
That campaign was built on a petition of 30,274 verified signatures on http://Change.org — "Reform South Africa's Constitution — Prioritise Citizens, Enforce Accountability."
Hosted by SACR, the citizen-led civic movement established in May 2025 during Parliament's Constitutional Review process, the Imbizo will bring together a diverse range of voices that Parliament has ignored for too long.
Among the key voices are Princy Mthombeni, Co-founder of SACR; Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, leader of March & March; Nhlanhla Mancinza, leader of Labour and Civic Organisation (LACO); Phakelumthakathi Ndabandaba, leader of Insizwa Nobunsizwa; and Khangela Baloyi, National Energy Sector Coordinator of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
They will tackle what matters on the ground: immigration, employment, labour, economic opportunity, community development and the lived experience of South Africans.
The programme will also bring together students from Vaal University of Technology (VUT) and North-West University (NWU), traditional leadership, higher education institutions, civic organisations, South African content creators, commentators, and a constitutional address by Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi.
SACR Co-founder Princy Mthombeni says the Imbizo is about putting citizens at the centre:"Thirty years into our constitutional democracy, South Africans have the right to ask what has worked, what has not, and what must change.
This is not a political rally. It is a national civic conversation, and we want South Africans to come to Sharpeville and make their voices heard."
That is the same Mthombeni who declared "You asked us to ACT. We've responded" when SACR launched legal action to force Parliament to comply with its constitutional duties — and opened a petition to amend Section 4 of the Immigration Act, 2002 to bar legal representatives who sued Home Affairs on immigration matters from sitting on the Immigration Advisory Board.
The Imbizo will culminate in the presentation and adoption of the SACR People's Declaration — a citizen-authored blueprint of key issues emerging from the national civic dialogue.
From legal panel to People's Declaration, the arc is clear. As we wrote on 27 August: Chickens are coming home to roost.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Saturday, 19 September 2026
Venue: George Thabe Stadium, Sharpeville
Registration: 08:00 | Programme: 10:00 – 14:00
Entry: Free
Media Enquiries: Enhle Mhlongo – National Coordinator, SACR – 084 665 4535 | info@sacr.org.za | http://www.sacr.org.za
This is The Azanian — Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
Get involved: http://www.sacr.org.za | Fund the case: http://backabuddy.co.za/campaign/sacr
Comments