His death, tragic and avoidable, has become a symbol of the fragility of our democracy and the urgency of ethical reform in public life.

Plato once warned, “The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”

Affan’s death is not merely a procedural failure; it is a moral wake-up call. It forces us to ask: What kind of democracy are we building, and for whom?

The nationwide protests that erupted in August were not spontaneous. They were the culmination of long-standing grievances: stagnant wages, exploitative labor systems, opaque tax policies and a growing sense that the political elite has lost touch with the people they claim to represent.

Led by labor unions, student groups and civil society organizations, the demonstrations demanded the abolition of outsourcing, fair minimum wage increases, tax reforms and the ratification of long-delayed legislation, such as the Domestic Workers Protection Bill and the Asset Recovery Bill.

Yet as Reinhold Niebuhr once noted: “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.”