EFF leader Julius Malema being removed by presidential task force during Sona 2023 on 9 February 2023. Photo: AFP/POOL/Esa Alexander
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema held a media briefing on Friday in response to President Cyril Ramahosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona), and the Speaker’s behaviour towards MPs.
Malema started by saying the red berets condemn “with contempt the abhorrent, irresponsible, unconstitutional and totally unacceptable conduct of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqukula“.
He said the Speaker undermined democratic culture and treated EFF members (who acted within the joint rules) unfairly while tolerating other parliamentary members who stepped out of line.
Malema said it was “unconstitutional, unlawful and unacceptable” for the SA Police Service’s Counter Assault Team to “violently and physically invade Parliament to remove peaceful Members of Parliament who were using their democratic right to protest”.
Julius Malema said the party will also take action against the Speaker for referring to EFF members as animals, which is “against the Rules of the National Assembly and altogether unacceptable”.
Due to this, the red berets will table a motion of no confidence against Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqukula “as a matter of urgency”.
Malema added: “The Speaker must know that from now onwards, she has declared a war against EFF members… for referring to us as animals and we will treat her accordingly”.
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Malema also took issue with the Speaker’s decision to have EFF members forcefully removed from Parliament.
“After thorough legal consultation, we decided to write to the Speaker of Parliament to apologise and withdraw that she allowed members of the SAPS to invade Parliament.”
The party also demand that the Speaker and Parliamentary Protection Services “condemn and distance themselves from the unlawful eviction of MPs… without due procedure”.
The Speaker was in violation of Rule 14GA of the Joint Rules of Parliament, which clearly sets out the standard operation procedure for removing members from the chamber.
Malema said Mapisa-Nqukula failed to follow due protocol during Sona.
He said the Speaker allowed the “illegal invasion of the chamber” and Malema demands that she “withdraw all these unlawful practices, or we will be left with no choice but to approach the courts to declare her decisions and conduct unlawful”.
Addressing the media after the briefing, Malema said Mapisa-Nqukula is “the most impatient and irresponsible Speaker”.
He said the fact that she called for the “South African Security Forces” by name shows that she was “calling the army; she knew those police [entered the chamber] without permission”.
Malema said EFF members didn’t damage parliamentary property and endanger the lives of MPs, however, he said the Speaker “knew those people were out of line and she knew she had to do something to save the situation”.
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