EFF MP Sihle Lonzi Kicked Out of Parliament for Asking Question About Gwede Mantashe’s Son

• EFF MP Sihle Lonzi was forcibly removed from Parliament after asking about the alleged appointment of Mining and Minerals Minister Gwede Mantashe as the chair of all Sector Education and Training Authorities
• A list of board appointees was leaked to the media and Mantashe's son Buyambo Mantashe was revealed to be appointed as the chairperson of the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (MerSETA)
• Committee member Prince Msezane called on committee chair Tebogo Letsie to restore order to the meeting, and when Lonzi insisted that he wants to use up his allocated 15 minutes, he was removed

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, has covered policy changes, cabinet reshuffles, the State of the Nation Address, Parliament and Parliamentary committees, politician-related news and elections at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for over seven years.

PARLIAMENT, WESTERN CAPE — Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) member and MP Sihle Lonzi was removed from Parliament on 14 May 2025 after asking a question about the alleged appointment of Mining and Minerals Minister Gwede Mantashe's son Buyambo Mantashe as the chairperson of the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (merSETA).

Sihle Lonzi removed from Parliament sitting

The EFF posted a video of a portion of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, of which Lonzi is a member, on its @EFFSouthAfrica X account. In the clip, Lonzi asks the Higher Education and Training Director General Nkosinathi Sishi if he is aware that Mantashe's son was appointed as merSETA's chair.

MK Party and committee member Prince Msezane calls on the committee chairperson, Tebogo Letsie, to bring the meeting to order. Lonzi interjects while another committee member speaks and says that he has not finished his allocated 15 minutes. He said he would have to be kicked out because he does not disrupt other committee members asking questions. He then slams Letsie.

"You're shielding these people. Why? Why must you be the lawyer of the DG? Why must you be the spokesperson of the department?" he asks.

Letsie then asks him to leave the meeting, and Lonzi insists on asking his question. He accuses Lonzi of disrupting the meeting. He then calls on security to remove Lonzi. The EFF MP continues criticising the department. Members of the security approach him and begin removing him. He demands to ask why he is being kicked out, continually accusing Letsie of protecting corruption.

Watch the X videos below:

DA accuses ANC of cadre deployment

The Democratic Alliance, in a statement, accused the Higher Education and Training Minister Dr Nobahle Nkabinde of appointing African National Congress members to chair SETA boards.

A leaked list of SETA board chairpersons showed that the former premier of KwaZulu-Natal Nomusa Dube Ncube was appointed as the Bank SETA chairperson as well as two former MECs in KwaZulu-Natal.

These include the former MEC of Sports Amanda Mapena and the former MEC of Tourism and Economic Development Michael Mabuyakhulu. The DA demanded that Nkabinde appear before the Portfolio committee to account for the alleged appointments.

When Lonzi was still the president of the EFF's Student Command, he posted a heated conversation between him and MK Party secretary general Floyd Shivambu after Shivambu left the EFF to join the MK Party.

He also slammed the Deputy minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Steve Letsike when the Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities rejected her request to summon podcaster MacG to Parliament. He said Letsike was silent on matters concerning other young people in the past.

NSFAS criticised for paying service providers R200 million

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) faced criticism from the Portfolio Committee for appointing four service providers and paying them R200 million to distribute funds to beneficiaries. Lonzi asked why NSFAS needed the service providers.

NSFAS's CEO Waseem Carrim explained that it was bound to the four service providers as the agreement was signed before he assumed office. He added that NSFAS began a legal review of the agreement.

Source: Briefly News