The National Assembly rejects the EFF’s motion for removal of Speaker

22 March 2023

The National Assembly (NA) has, during its plenary held at the Cape Town City Hall this afternoon, rejected the motion for the removal of Speaker, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula from office in terms of Section 52(4) of the Constitution and National Assembly Rule 28.

Rule 28 makes provision for the House to remove the Speaker or Deputy Speaker from office by resolution in terms of Section 52(4) of the Constitution.

According to this rule, a motion for the removal of the Speaker from office must comply, to the satisfaction of the Deputy Speaker, with the prescripts of any relevant law or any relevant rules and orders of the House and directives and guidelines approved by the Rules Committee before being placed on the Order Paper, and must include the grounds on which the proposed removal from office is based.

The motion was brought by the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Mr Julius Malema, following an order during the 2023 State of the Nation Address for the EFF Members to leave the Chamber, after defying NA Speaker’s directive to refrain from raising frivolous points of order. The EFF Members instead charged towards the podium, which necessitated Speaker to call for Security Services to remove them.

The EFF’s complaint to the Inter-Parliamentary Union Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians on the same matter was dismissed as it was deemed inadmissible. The EFF had complained to the committee of the multilateral body of world parliaments, and the matter was heard in its meeting in Bahrain last week. The Committee was persuaded by the Speaker’s account of the proceedings of that day, which factually disproved the allegations in the EFF complaint, which included the false claim that the Speaker referred to the EFF MPs as animals.

This afternoon, 234 Members of the NA voted against the motion to remove the Speaker and upheld Parliament’s position that the Speaker acted in accordance with the provisions of the Joint Rules of Parliament. Only 42 voted in support of the motion, while 73 abstained.

The vote was conducted by means of manual voting system and roll call.

The Speaker has appreciated the debate on the motion against her as it did not only strengthen democratic engagement and accountability, but also helped her to learn from constructive criticism where it was made.

Issued by Moloto Mothapo, Media Officer, Parliament, 23 March 2023