EFF MPs Sinawo Tambo and Naledi Chirwa being removed from the chamber. Photo: Twitter
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has taken a swipe at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s strong remarks on gender-based violence (GBV) in 2020 and compared it to the chaos in Parliament on Friday, where the party claims a woman was assaulted.
This EFF claims the woman was assaulted after Ramaphosa’s budget vote speech in the National Assembly on Friday.
EFF members continuously heckled Ramaphosa and other ANC MPs insisting that the national Assembly could not be addressed by the president.
In the video circulated by the red berets on the party’s WhatsApp group, Ramaphosa can be seen speaking about GBV in 2020.
“Over the past few days, our country has been deeply traumatized by acts of extreme violence perpetrated by men against women,” Ramaphosa said.
The video then cues to the National Assembly on Friday, showing the female members being dragged out of the chamber by security officials.
EFF leader Julius Malema is heard in the video asking the speaker to take action.
“Honourable speaker we are asking you to protect women. What is this that you are doing that you allow men… You are punishing women for defending themselves.”
Watch the video by the EFF
The EFF has since opened a criminal case against Speaker of the National Assembly Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
According to the party, a woman was assaulted physically and sexually.
“EFF MPs who were subjected to Mapisa-Nqakula’s tyranny in service of Ramaphosa, have opened a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and sexual assault against Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and the so-called Parliament Protection Services. The case has been opened at the Cape Town Central Police Station,” said the party in a statement.
“We call on the police to speedily act on the cases we have opened because they have always acted when cases are opened against EFF members whilst they did nothing when we opened the cases of abuse and assault against the parliamentary protection services during president Jacob Zuma’s time.”
The party said it would pursue private prosecution against speaker and the parliament protection services if nothing is done about the cases it has opened.
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