SONA 2023
EFF demand apology, threaten legal action for being ejected from Sona
The Economic Freedom Fighters have launched a broadside against National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula for booting out the red berets from the Cape Town City Hall chambers during the State of the Nation Address.
EFF leader Julius Malema is adamant that the presence of armed police and their response to the EFF’s attempt to stage a protest in the chambers undermined the rights of MPs adding that it was unconstitutional.
Malema was speaking during a briefing held in Cape Town on Friday afternoon.
#EFFPresser EFF leader Julius Malema says the SAPS deployed armed personnel to intimidate MP’s.
He is briefing the media after EFF MPs were ejected from #SONA2023 proceedings yesterday evening.
— Queenin Masuabi (@Queenin_M) February 10, 2023
He explained that National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s interpretation of Parliamentary rules was flawed and did not warrant the ejection of EFF members from the Parliamentary sitting. Now, Mapisa-Nqakula will be served with a legal document demanding that she apologise within 48 hours or risk the eventuality of being dragged to court.
He also demanded that the Speaker and the Parliamentary Protection Services condemn and distance themselves from the unlawful eviction of MPs from the precinct without due procedure.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. (Photo: Gallo Images / Die Burger / Jaco Marais)
“There is absolutely no permissibility in the Rules of Parliament or the Constitution to treat MPs as a group and evict them from the Assembly for exercising their democratic rights because a Presiding Officer has a preconceived decision and attitude about the members. All EFF Members of Parliament who spoke during State of the Nation and those who intended to speak were going to do so within the Joint Rules of Parliament and within the Laws of the Republic.
“It is therefore unconstitutional, unlawful and unacceptable that the South African Police Service’s Counter Assault Team violently and physically invaded Parliament to remove peaceful Members of Parliament who were using their democratic right to protest,” he said.
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Read more in Daily Maverick: “Four key takeaways from Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address”
Malema accused the Speaker of undermining the Western Cape high court judgement in the matter between the Democratic Alliance and the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces and the Government.
“The judgement states that only Parliamentary Protection Services would deal with conduct of members in the chamber and not Security Services as defined by Section 199 of the Constitution. We made these changes to the Rules because to allow defence forces, police services and any intelligence into Parliament Chambers will grossly render Section 58 of the Constitution null and void, and undermine Members of Parliament freedom of speech,” the leader of the EFF said.
The State of Nation Address started on a chaotic note when the red berets stormed the stage when President Cyril Ramaphosa started delivering his speech. They had to be removed by security personnel, which led to Mapisa-Nqakula suspending proceedings.
Parliamentary security and EFF MPs scuffle in the disrupted proceedings at the State of the Nation Address held at the City Hall in Cape Town on 9 February 2023. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
African Transformation Movement leader Vuyo Zungula was also asked to leave the chambers after he raised a point of order which led to him going back and forth with Mapisa-Nqakula.
Shortly after the removal of EFF members, Parliament issued a statement condemning the actions of the EFF MPs.
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The statement also gave clarity on the role of security services during Parliamentary proceedings.
“The House had to be briefly suspended to remove the disruptive MPs, who refused to leave the House after being repeatedly ordered to do so following persistent abuse of the points of order. The MPs also jumped onto the stage where the President was seated, posing an immediate threat to his safety.
“In terms of the Joint Rules of Parliament, the security services may intervene directly anywhere in the precincts in terms of section 4(2) of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act (Act No 4 of 2004, when there is immediate danger to the life or safety of any person or damage to any property.
“In this regard, the security services do not have to await the invitation of the Presiding Officers to enter the Chamber when the life or safety of a Member is at stake,” the statement reads. DM
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You are giving the EFF free airtime by reporting on this.
agree with you pse take note maverick
Aren’t individual MPs and/or the EFF guilty of some or other Parliamentary disciplinary rule whenever they ignore the Speaker’s authority or rulings – in particular, to leave the Chamber, which the ATM Leader apparently obeyed?
Has the EFF explained why they stormed the towards the President? Weren’t the SAPS personnel obliged to protect him, the Speaker and other officials on the stage? Didn’t that storm/charge amount to, at least, an attempt to commit a criminal offence which would have entitled the arrests of the MPs involved?
Surely there must be creative ways to thwart the now chronic EFF charades?
Finally, what did the Leader of the DA think would have happened if the storm/charge had not been stopped?!? It was left to the Leader of the FF to provide a note of sanity and reality about what could otherwise have happened.
I am so sick of the effing redshirts’ Disgusting antics. THEY are the faschists!
Just imagine for the moment, Malema was the president and the DA or FF would have stormed the podium, I am 100% convinced that this would have ended in a blood bath.
The EFF tactics of disruption have reached their usefulness in our politics. They were important during the Zuma era and helped to get the public to take note and interest of what was happening in the adult day care centre called parliament. They did a sterling job in exposing the nature and character of our parliament that is very useless in holding the executive to account. However, with the public having an interest now on what the ANC leaders say, they should allow the President and his Ministers to say what people are interested to hear so that they can make their judgement on what is being said. We value what they have done in the past but now they need to be able to respond to the issues that are being said by the President.
We are not happy when they leave parliament because we want to see them being part of the debate and to participate effectively. We know that they have the intellectual capacity to engage. We wanted to hear their comments to what the President was saying. As many people admired them for changing the adult day care centre, they must not blemish what they have achieved. Nor they should give their opponents cheap political points to score over them. We expect them to respond to what the President said. They did a good thing to attend the meeting with the President and to tell him that the Eskom crisis is not a collective responsibility but the ANC that created it and that has the power to correct it.
When is this child – and his equally silly and equally corrupt VBS mates – going to grow up? Utterly pathetic bunch of clowns. South Africa deserves better.
Julius, go party in Camps Bay, drink some expensive wiskey you got from your corrupt friends, and chill. You deserved what you got. A hiding from the headmaster because you acted like a child.
They’re an embarrassment