Malema, five other EFF MPs to miss SONA, Budget Speech as Parly suspensions kick in

CAPE TOWN - Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and other senior party MPs will miss both the SONA and the Budget Speech due to suspension from Parliament.

The party says the sanction is both “draconian” and “partisan”, accusing Parliament of trying to shield President Cyril Ramaphosa from scrutiny.

This follows a decision by the Western Cape High Court to strike off the roll the EFF’s urgent application to reverse the suspension of Malema and five other MPs for disrupting last year’s SONA.

The suspension of Julius Malema and his fellow MPs officially starts on Thursday and will remain in place until the end of the month.

This means they can’t attend the State of the Nation Address next week and the finance minister’s Budget Speech later in the month.

Western Cape High Court Judge Nathan Erasmus said this week that the party won’t get its wish to attend the two events, mainly because their papers were filed late, before striking the matter off the roll.

The party said the ruling illustrated what it called the “suppressive nature” of the attempts to silence the red berets as they attempt to hold President Ramaphosa accountable.

The party said the initial “peaceful” protest at last year’s SONA stemmed from the Phala Phala allegations Ramaphosa was facing.