Johannesburg - Attempts to arrest and remove Julius Malema and EFF MPs from the National Assembly for what they say would be a flagrant violation of the constitution, says constitutional law expert Pierre de Vos.
De Vos made the remarks as the EFF prepares to go to court this week over the pending suspensions.
De Vos said the issue was “Can the Speaker get the police to arrest members of Parliament for things they say in Parliament?”
“If that happened it would be a breach of the constitutions, and that would be clearly a flagrant breach of the constitution,” De Vos said.
On threats by the security cluster to arrest MPs, De Vos said sending in the troops without the authorisation of the Speaker would also be a serious breach of the constitution.
“That would be something to worry about. If the Speaker authorises the arrest of MPs for anything they say, even if it’s disruptive in Parliament, that would also be a breach,” De Vos added.
He said most of what the security cluster said was just “political hot air”.
“I don’t think it’s really relevant this way or that way. It’s people grandstanding; you have to expect that from politicians,” De Vos said.
The security cluster’s reference to the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act was incorrect.
“That is wrong for two reasons. Firstly, legislation cannot trump the constitution’s section 58. So that’s the first thing. Secondly, if you actually study that legislation, you see they’ve made a distinction between members of Parliament and other people or persons. That section authorises the police to arrest people who are not MPs who disrupt parliamentary proceedings. It doesn’t refer to MPs.”
Malema has already responded to Speaker Baleka Mbete on why he should not be suspended.
“In posing questions to the president based on a report by the public protector, I was discharging my obligation to the members of the public as required by the abovementioned provisions of our constitution,” Malema said in his response to Mbete.
He was referring to section 55 of the constitution, which states that the National Assembly must “ensure that all executive organs of state in the national sphere of government are accountable to it”.
Mbete said visual footage of the events confirmed that Malema “undermined the authority of the chair, actively participated in the disruption or disturbance of the proceedings in the chamber and impeded the House’s ability to conduct and conclude the business of the day”.
After “due deliberation and consultation”, she had decided to refer the incident to the powers and privileges committee, Mbete added. “The committee will thereafter report to the Assembly on its findings and recommendations.”
The suspensions come as calls for President Jacob Zuma to pay back a portion of the Nkandla upgrade costs get louder. Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi tweeted on Sunday that “the public protector has to be respected. Her office is an absolutely critical foundation of our democracy.”
Political Bureau