S. African court dismisses EFF leader's application over parliamentary removal

The Western Cape High Court on Wednesday dismissed Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema's application to overturn his removal from Parliament last year.

Malema was removed from the House in September last year for making spurious and unsubstantiated remarks describing Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as a "murderer".

Malema later filed an application to the Western Cape High Court, trying to overturn the decision to remove him for his conduct, which was seen as defying the authority of the presiding officer and caused great disruption to the session of the House.

The EFF leader also wanted the Court to declare Parliament's employment of ex-police or military personnel into its security services "unlawful". This was also rejected by the Court.

In its Wednesday ruling, the Court found that the presiding officer, Parliament Speaker Baleke Mbete, acted reasonably and concurred with Parliament that Malema's behavior was disruptive and warranted his removal.

The court asserted that the Speaker has shown beyond any doubt that there are instances of interference and disruption that justify the removal of a member who hamstrings and incapacitates Parliament from conducting it's business.

The Court further ruled that MPs removed from the House must be subjected to a process outlined in section 12 of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament Act before subsequent suspension.

The Chief Whip Office of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) welcomed the court ruling, saying the judgment affirms the National Assembly rules and the authority they grant the presiding officers to swiftly remove MPs whose conduct is disruptive or threatens to collapse the proceedings of the House.

"The judgment further affirms the Constitutional prerogative of Parliament to determine its own internal arrangements, proceedings and procedures to govern its business," the office said in a statement emailed to Xinhua.

In terms of the rules of the House, allegations of improper conduct against other MPs cannot be made without substantive motion supported by concrete evidence.

"It is common knowledge that Malema would not have any evidence to support his malicious political posturing, which makes his utterances abusive of the freedom of speech MPs enjoy in the House," said Moloto Mothapo, spokesperson of the ANC Chief Whip Office.

"As we have consistently stated, EFF's rampant abuse of the rules of the House, insults, unwarranted personal attacks and defamatory allegations are not conducive to lively political engagement and are a waste of the time that Parliament ought to be dedicating to better people's lives," Mothapo said. Endit