EFF statement on dismissal of application against Speaker of Parliament for violence against Members of Parliament
10 June 2024
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) notes that the Western Cape High Court has endorsed the Speaker of Parliament's unleashing of violence against Members of Parliament (MPs) during the 2015 and 2017 State of the Nation Addresses (SONAs).
The court dismissed our application today, 10th June 2024, to declare that MPs were violently removed in a manner that was both unlawful and unconstitutional. It was also our contention that Parliaments powers were misapplied in doing so.
During the SONA sittings, the Speaker of Parliament directed the Parliamentary Protection Services (PPS) to brutally assault and forcibly remove EFF MPs for exercising their constitutional obligation to hold the executive accountable. Further, these violent actions were premeditated. The security personnel were equipped with cable ties and were seen practicing violent tactics on their targets before the parliamentary sittings.
This level of preparation and execution highlights an extremely violent attempt to silence our MPs to protect the Executive from accountability. So extreme and targeted was the violence that a woman MP suffered a miscarriage.