Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has expressed pride in how the party members conducted themselves in Parliament on Thursday evening.
Speaking outside Parliament, Malema said that the party members raised issues without fear. He added that the party is going to continue to raise issues in Parliament.
“To come here and wear gowns and parade on the red carpet, creating a wrong impression that the country is going well is misleading and disingenuous. The EFF is not going to be part of such nonsense. We have said to the president that ‘fire Pravin and fire Pravin now.’
“We have made our point, that we can’t sit under the same roof as Pravin. We can’t sit under the same roof as De Klerk. Cyril Ramaphosa must know that this is going to be our relationship going forward. Anyone who does not want to hold ministers accountable, who does not want to be held accountable will never receive the respect of the EFF,” said Malema.
Earlier, Speaker National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise temporarily suspended the sitting of the House after the party disrupted President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Party members were demanding that former state President Frederick de Klerk should not be allowed to attend the SONA for recently saying that apartheid was not a crime against humanity.
WATCH | Prior to their walkout at #SONA2020 the EFF made reference to an SABC News interview with the last apartheid president, FW De Klerk denying that apartheid was a crime against humanity. FULL INTERVIEW > https://t.co/Kwhd7YG60N pic.twitter.com/VZBssG3ve4
— SABC News Online (@SABCNewsOnline) February 13, 2020
“This sitting has been called for one item; one item only – to give the President the space to address the nation. It is a convention that all the presidents, former presidents who are still alive are invited to this sitting. The former President De Klerk has been invited because of that. I, therefore, cannot sustain this submission you have made and therefore, rule it out of order,” Modise ruled.
She also suspended the party’s call for Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan to leave the house. Shortly after the house resumed, EFF members voluntarily left the house.
Wacth the video below for the SONA livestream:
