PARLIAMENT
Sona no-go for EFF leader Julius Malema and five others after high court bid fails
Parliament’s suspension of EFF leader Julius Malema, his deputy Floyd Shivambu and four others for the whole month of February stands — and effectively excludes them from the 8 February State of the Nation Address, the subsequent debate and also the Budget on 21 February.
Beyond deadline, late and voluminous court papers had the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday strike off the roll the EFF’s challenge of their six members’ suspension, alongside a review of parliamentary rules and the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act. The consequence? In place remains Parliament’s finding and sanction of contempt for disrupting the 2023 State of the Nation Address (Sona) when EFF leader Julius Malema and the other walked onto the stage with posters on the presidential Phala Phala debacle.
Read more in Daily Maverick: The first 45 minutes — High drama as EFF members booted out after trying to storm the City Hall stage
Judge Nathan Erasmus of the full bench ruled, “By allowing litigants to ignore court orders that they have agreed to and without proper explanation, will bring justice into disrepute. I am mindful of this matter and that the applicants might not get the relief before the next State of the Nation Address or budget speech. But this is of their own making…,” according to News24.
Parliament in a statement welcomed the court decision, “The suspensions of the six EFF members are effective from Thursday, 1 February to 29 February”.
For Parliament, not having Malema and the others in the House for the 2024 Sona would be a welcome relief and boost expectations of smoother proceedings. The EFF has repeatedly disrupted President Cyril Ramaphosa in the wake of the 2020 Phala Phala scandal following public disclosure of the theft of the US dollars stuffed into a sofa on the presidential game farm.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Ramaphosa’s Farmgate scandal – a timeline of what we know (and don’t know) so far
For the EFF it’s a blow that its leaders are suspended from Parliament in February. It’s a high-profile, busy month when the Sona opens the political calendar and the Budget closes the cycle of key government announcements from politics to economics.
“Parliament is the highest stage of peaceful protest and the ANC must never turn our democratic Parliament into a weapon in defence of a money laundering Cyril Ramaphosa!” the EFF posted on X coinciding with Tuesday’s court proceedings.
On 5 December, the House voted 264 for and 30 against to adopt the powers and privileges recommendation to suspend without salary in February Malema, his deputy Floyd Shivambu, EFF secretary-general Marshall Dlamini and EFF MPs Sinawo Tambo, Vuyani Pambo, and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi. They must also apologise in the House.
Not yet finalised are the parliamentary powers and privileges proceedings against 10 EFF MPs for disrupting Ramaphosa’s Budget vote speech on 10 June 2022. Those contempt proceedings which started earlier in January include, Natasha Ntlangwini, Anthony Matumba, Tseko Mafanya, Babalwa Mathulelwa, Paulnita Marais, Naledi Chirwa, Sinawo Tambo, Mothusi Montwedi, Yoliswa Yako and Constance Mkhonto.
But done and dusted is ANC MP Dipuo Peters’ suspension for the whole first parliamentary term, the penalty imposed after Parliament’s joint ethics committee in October 2023 found her guilty of State Capture-related actions, including sacking the Prasa (Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa) and failing to timeously appoint a Prasa CEO.
Read more in Daly Maverick: Ethics committee recommends sanction against ex-transport minister Dipuo Peters over Prasa debacle
“The Member failed to act on all occasions in accordance with the public trust placed in her, and discharge her obligations, in terms of the Constitution, to Parliament and the public at large,” the joint ethics committee found on the complaint brought by #UniteBehind and its leader, activist Zackie Achmat.
On Monday, Peters’s court bid to set aside the sanctions failed. Parliament in a statement welcomed this.
“We appreciate the court’s sentiments regarding the importance of allowing Parliament, as an arm of state, to regulate its business without interference from other arms of the state… Ms Peters will be placed on suspension commencing…30 January, with the suspension expected to last until 28 March.”
Like Malema and the five EFF MPs, Peters will miss Sona.
Peters’s fellow ANC MP Mosebenzi Zwane, implicated in State Capture while mineral resources minister, was on Tuesday found guilty by the powers and privileges committee for failing to apologise in the House as ordered by Parliament’s joint ethics committee. This after he was suspended from the House for having negotiated the Gupta-linked Tegeta coal mine acquisition and fined five days’ salary for not having disclosed travel benefits paid for by the Guptas. The apology was for the ministerial statement he issued on approaching banks regarding their closing of Gutpa accounts that was found to have violated public trust and brought Parliament and Cabinet into disrepute.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Joint ethics committee throws the book at Mosebenzi Zwane over Gupta links, travel and coal mine
Zwane on 2 May 2023 was not in the House as instructed to deliver his apology, and again not in early September 2023.
On Tuesday he told the powers and privileges committee of flight delays and a family medical emergency that prevented him from making those dates. MPs didn’t buy this, including those of the governing ANC which indicates Zwane’s failing standing in the party.
The powers and privileges committee recommended Zwane be suspended from the House in March and docked a month’s salary. The sanction must now be adopted by the House. DM
UPDATE: The EFF has filed its court papers afresh, and the challenge to set aside the suspension of Malema and the others is set down for Tuesday in the Western Cape High Court, or two days before Sona.
Punctuality and proper time management are not big on this continent. There is a good reason the trains run on time in Japan, to the minute, whereas 90% of SA’s railways have been destroyed.
Between the ANC corruption kleptocrats, the EFF race baters and the MK wanabees, there is no ethics in their ranks in parliament.
Bizarre that they even wanted to try.
Malema only wanted to be there so he could disrupt, demonstrate and be thrown out.
Absolutely. When have they ever contributed something positive ?
I am sure Juju is busy training some disruption comrades as we speak. There is no way he will let these occasions go by without action. However, none will be as good as he is!
The whole charade should be binned to late-night reality TV. Empty promises and exaggerated bling, what a waste of time.
Agreed!
About time!
How are Peters and Zwane Still MP’s?
Because they are ANC of course and have lots of “beans to spill”, i.e. smallanyana skeletons everywhere, waiting to be let out, if anything happens to them. Same across the board.
A bunch of clowns, nothing else. The EFF holds SA to ransom in these ridiculous assaults on democratic processes which are needed to divulge facts about our country that we all we need to know. They’ll probably round up as many other clowns as they can and stand outside parliament chanting retarded slogans while the SONA is underway.
Awesome! Assist in the sacking of the public purse, benefits financially from it and all you get is maybe pay 1 months salary? Who says crime doesn’t pay. Is this some cruel joke?
Nah = it’s suspension with pay.
shame – they’ll have to do their sleeping at home now.
Swap his red overall for an orange one
The remaining EFF MP’s, will no doubt ensure that the SONA is disrupted. They will be under instruction from the command centre (KFC) to disrupt as much as possible. All of the EFF MP’s will eventually be ejected from the sitting. Ratings are going to be high
Parliament is a tatty circus with an excess of obese clowns in silly outfits. How anyone can bring themselves to take the time to watch what goes on there is beyond me. I tuned out immediately after the presentation on Zuma’s fire pool which was probably 5 years too late.
Die ANC regering en die EFF is niks anders as ‘n siek swak grap. Jy kan net jou kop skud oor wat daar aangaan.
It’s about time the Eff leadership faces the music for their actions, disrupting Sona.
Even though it might have been entertaining, for that they should join a circus.
Maybe we can actually hear what the President is going to promise this year.