16 EFF Members Found Guilty for Disrupting Pravin Gordhan in 2019
- A number of Economic Freedom Fighters members have been found guilty for an incident in July 2019
- The EFF members stormed the podium while Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan was delivering a speech
- Parliament's Powers and Privileges Committee charged 16 members from the party on Thursday afternoon
PAY ATTENTION: Join Briefly News' Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
Several members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have been found guilty of contempt of Parliament. Parliament's Powers and Privileges Committee is charging 16 members of the EFF for storming Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan at the podium.
The incident occurred in 2019 when Gordhan was delivering a speech. A hearing last year about the incident proved that there was profuse evidence that the Red Berets members had broken both the Powers and Privileges Act and Parliamentary rules.
The EFF MPs now have the opportunity to make presentations to the Committee before a sanction can be imposed.
Source: Getty Images
A report by News24 stated that a communique would be sent to the MPs found guilty so representations can be made. EWN reported that the Committee found the MPs guilty on Thursday afternoon and the motion was objected to by Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.
The report continued by saying that the EFF members did not take part in the hearing; claiming that the majority of ANC members on the Committee would result in an unfair outcome.
In other EFF court news, Briefly.co.za reported that the party wants an investigation into the eNCA 'mask incident'. The party have requested that the Speaker of the National Assembly open an inquiry into eNCA over an incident involving the broadcaster's political correspondent Lindsay Dentlinger.
Social media users have been boiling with anger after the 2021 budget speech. This is a result of a video showing an eNCA reporter asking black politicians to keep their masks on while interviewing others without their masks.
The EFF has accused the broadcaster of racism following the incident, something which eNCA firmly denies. Managing Director of eNCA Norman Munzhelele stated that they carefully analysed the situation and understood the given pressure of the live TV environment, adding that 'unplanned occurrences' can happen.
eNCA management has concluded that her conduct was 'not racially motivated or with malicious intent'. The management reportedly met with Dentlinger about the videos. Dentlinger herself has stated that she acknowledges the outrage and apologised for the disrespect it caused.
She added that she felt awful about how she was being perceived across the country and how people in Mzansi believed that the incident was a true reflection of who she is as a journalist.
Dentlinger further claimed that the incident was not an isolated one, as many believed it occurred at the 2021 budget speech. The incidents reportedly happened between October 2020 and last week.
Enjoyed reading our story? Download BRIEFLY's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news!
Source: Briefly News
