Wednesday, January 31, 2024 – The EFF is fuming over the Western Cape High Court ruling preventing six senior members from attending next week's state of the nation address (Sona).
An EFF application that sought to rescind their suspension
as part of disciplinary sanctions after the protest at last year's Sona was
struck off the roll.
EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo said the ruling “underscores
the suppressive nature of the executive's attempts to stifle accountability and
silence those who hold [President] Cyril Ramaphosa accountable”.
“The partisan and draconian decision to suspend the
president of the EFF Julius Malema, the deputy president Floyd Shivambu,
secretary-general Marshall Dlamini and commissars Sinawo Tambo, Vuyani Pambo
and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi for contempt of parliament is clearly politically
motivated and aims to intimidate those who seek to hold the government
accountable.”
Tambo insisted the protest was peaceful and stemmed from
serious allegations against Ramaphosa regarding the theft of foreign currency
at his Phala Phala game farm.
“The EFF was and remains concerned about the lack of
adequate investigation and accountability regarding this discovery that was
coupled with numerous illegal activities in attempts to recover what was stolen
illicit currency.
“It was revealed that there had been clandestine
investigations using state resources and the apparent co-ordinated cover-up by
state institutions such as the South African Reserve Bank, South African
Revenue Service and the public protector's office gave credence to the levels
of criminality by the president.”
The EFF was being punished in the “climate of impunity” for
emerging as a leading voice willing to speak out against corruption and demand
transparency from the highest echelons of government.
“It is not surprising that [parliament's] powers and
privileges committee, which is predominantly constituted by members of the ANC,
proceeded with disciplinary proceedings against our members.”
Tambo said it was evident the timing of the suspension, to
exclude their members from the Sona is nefarious and appears to be an attempt
to ensure Ramaphosa can deliver his Sona without facing scrutiny from the EFF.
“The ANC-led government is resorting to vindictive measures
to silence opposition voices and evade accountability for their failures.
Despite these unjust actions, we assure the public that EFF MPs who attend the
Sona will continue to hold Ramaphosa accountable for his failures.”
Parliament welcomed the court ruling, saying it endorsed the recommendation by the powers and
privileges committee to suspend six of its members for defying the speaker's
order to leave the chamber during the disruption and had to be removed by
parliament's security services.
The EFF requested the court's leniency in accepting the late
filing of their replies to the affidavit of the National Assembly and the heads
of argument.
Spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said parliament concurs with the majority
judgment that the responsibility lies with the applicant, the EFF, to ensure
they adhere to court rules and have a well-prepared case for hearing.
“The EFF's imposed unreasonable time frames and their filing
on midnight before the next court day not only inconvenienced parliament and
the court, but also indicated their lack of readiness for their application to
be heard.”
The EFF's application was dismissed with costs.
The suspension of the six EFF MPs is effective from February
1 to 29.
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