First anniversary of Mandela's death

Three minutes and seven seconds of noise, followed by three minutes of silence. A total of six minutes and seven seconds symbolizing the 67 years the late Nelson Mandela served South Africa as guerrilla fighter, prisoner of conscience and politician. This is how South Africa is remembering its first post-apartheid president on the first anniversary of his death on Friday (5.12.2014).

Many South Africans will regard the racket made by the vuvuzelas, bells and sirens as a penetrating alarm call. Twenty years after their country held its first free elections, the stability of South African democracy is being put to the test.

On 13 November 2014, the National Assembly plumbed the depths of parliamentary misconduct when Ngwanamakwetle Mashabela of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) declared that President Zuma was "the greatest thief in the world" and "a criminal." She refused to obey a call to order by the speaker of the Assembly.

This was a deliberate act of provocation, but the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and their parliamentary caucus house chairperson Cedric Frolick made matters worse by overreacting. Instead of simply halting the debate, they called the police. Officers in full riot gear stormed into the chamber. In the ensuing scuffles there were some minor injuries, including noses dripping blood.

On the parliamentary TV channel, moving images of the chamber were replaced by a still picture, but the sound was still being broadcast live. "Get out!" a disembodied voice said. Then somebody screamed into the microphone. "You call the police in parliament, shame on you!"

Unthinkable in Mandela era

Seldom have the two opposition parties - the radical left EFF and the liberal Democratic Alliance (DA) - been so united in their condemnation of the government. The two parties - who garnered a total of 29 percent of the vote at the last election - declared that the country was now facing a constitutional crisis.

Civil rights activist Lawson Naidoo believes that such scenes in parliament would have been unthinkable in Nelson Mandela's day. "We are at a crossroads in some respects in that many of our institutions of government - and not just parliament - are under some pressure," he said.

Naidoo is Executive Secretary of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASCA), which describes itself on its website as an "initiative led by progressive people who want to advance the South African Constitution as a platform for democratic politics and the transformation of society."

There are many ANC members in CASCA. Evidently ANC party members are unable to exert a moderating influence over President Jacob Zuma within existing party structures.

'Nkandlagate' was one example. Zuma's rural home in Nkandla in Kwazulu-Natal was given a luxury makeover with taxpayers' money, even though it was only the compound's security which was supposed to have been upgraded. Thuli Madonsela, the Public Protector of South Africa - the equivalent of an ombudsman in many other countries - carried out a thorough investigation and came to the conclusion that Zuma should hand back a substantial share of that taxpayers' money. But then the ANC - with its parliamentary majority - set up an ad hoc committee which absolved Zuma of any wrongdoing.

'Going slowly bust'

The opposition accused the government of misusing its parliamentary majority and of turning the proceedings into a farce. Naidoo says South Africa is calling out for strong leadership, not just from the president but from the president downwards. "We need leadership, wide leadership across the board, to say we must build a society on the basis of the values and the principles of our constitution, which is an inclusive democracy in which transparency and open government prevail - and not simply looking at the needs of the political party in power or trying to shield particular politicians from the scrutiny of the law," he said.

Even politicians with criminal records find they can stay in office, provided they belong to the right party. The unease in the population is growing, especially because the ANC is having difficulty keeping its election promises of improved social and welfare policies - such bringing down youth unemployment. Meanwhile the economy is faltering and the climate for investment in the country unfavorable. One of the country's richest and most influential business tycoons, Johann Rupert, recently suggested that South Africa was going slowly bust.

Even Germany's foreign minister, Frank Walter Steinmeier, felt obliged to comment on the deep divisions troubling South African society. The government needed to justify its actions, make a case for the social and economic policies it is pursuing. "Of course, I hope that any such discussions do not lead to conflict or turbulence in the country," Steinmeier said during a visit in November.

The younger generation of South Africans have a more relaxed view of their country's future. Zama Moyo is studying political science at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg - the university where Nelson Mandela was once enrolled. Moyo hopes that the alarm sounded by vuvuzelas, bells and sirens and even the tumultuous scenes in parliament will have come just in time. "It seems like South Africa's democracy has received a healthy injection. There's renewed interest in parliamentary activity. I think democracy is in a healthy state in South Africa," he said.