South African opposition leader Julius Malema and five members of his Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party received a one-month suspension without pay from parliament due to their involvement in storming the stage during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address in February, declared by the parliament’s powers and privileges committee as contempt of parliament.
Following the disruption caused by Malema and the MPs, the speaker halted proceedings, and security removed them from the hall.
The committee ruled that each member must personally apologize in the House to the president, the speaker, and the people of South Africa for their actions that cast the country in a negative light.
Their suspension, scheduled for the entire month of February next year, coincides with the president’s upcoming state of the nation address, barring Malema and the five MPs from attending.
During the hearings, which the EFF MPs refused to engage in after their request for a postponement was denied, Malema objected to advocate Anton Katz’s appointment as the hearing’s initiator, stating, “I will not be persecuted by a white man.”
Source-BBC
