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CAPE TOWN. – A South African court on Tuesday upheld a ban on opposition party leaders from attending President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech this week to mark the opening of the new parliamentary session, after were sanctioned for disrupting the event a year ago.
The leader, deputy leader and four other representatives of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) , the third largest party in Parliament , will not be allowed to attend the State of the Nation address today.
The six MPs were suspended from Parliament from February 1 to 29. They were among a group of EFF members who were ordered out of the room by the speaker for interrupting Mr Ramaphosa ‘s 2023 speech. But instead of leaving, the group, led by EFF president Julius Malema , jumped on stage and held up signs calling on Mr Ramaphosa to step down before security forced them out.
EFF MPs disrupted parliamentary sessions and fought with security officers on several occasions.
Malema, EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu and the other MPs took legal action to appeal their suspension.
After being rejected, they filed another appeal asking that the new parliamentary rules under which they were suspended be declared invalid.
The Western Cape High Court dismissed the appeal on Tuesday. – africanews.com
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter