Archbishop Emeritus Njongonkulu Ndungane is profoundly relieved by Wednesday’s high court ruling on the nuclear deal‚ but warned that Eskom and the government would “fight tooth and nail” to have it overturned.

Njongo commended Earthlife Africa‚ the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute and other civil society organisations who have opposed the deal for several years.

“This is a salutary lesson. Civil society in South Africa has doggedly persevered in doing what it believes is right in respect of the nuclear deal. Government and Eskom should know that we do not intend to be brow beaten into submission‚” he said.

But he warned he expected government and Eskom to appeal the ruling‚ since the small cabal of people led by the president in whose interests the nuclear deal appeared to be being negotiated were unlikely to simply give up.

“I have said previously that this nuclear deal will cripple the country’s economy‚” the Archbishop said.

He expressed his “deep disquiet” that the government was failing in its duty to protect the interests of the poorest people.

“This is the second time in a matter of months that the courts have had to come to the rescue of our people. The first was the Constitutional Court ruling about grant payments … it should not be the case that we must run to the courts to protect our people.

He called on South Africans‚ when next they are called to exercise their ballot‚ to vote for a government that will act in the interests of all the people and not just a select few.