Members of Parliament Roast Ashley Sauls After “Hero” Paul O’Sullivan Walks Out

• The Ad Hoc Committee investigating alleged corruption in the South African Police Service erupted into chaos as MPs taunted Ashley Sauls
• Paul O’Sullivan, who testified before the Committee, walked out after a tense exchange with uMkhonto weSizwe Party MP David Skosana
• Other Members of Parliament roasted Sauls after he previously lauded O’Sullivan during proceedings

Tebogo Mokwena, affiliated with Briefly News, covered local and international politics, political analysis, and interviews in South Africa for Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News during his 10 years of experience.

PARLIAMENT, WESTERN CAPE — Members of Parliament were unimpressed with Patriotic Alliance (PA) MP Ashley Sauls praising Paul O’Sullivan and blasted him after the latter stormed out of Parliament on 26 February 2026.

MDN News posted two clips of Members of Parliament from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party having a go at Sauls on its @MDNNewss X account. The roasting session came after Sauls praised O’Sullivan during his testimony and called him a hero.

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EFF goes after Sauls

EFF president Julius Malema was not pleased with O’Sullivan’s actions, and neither was he impressed by Sauls’ praise of O’Sullivan. Malema said Sauls cannot repeatedly say O’Sullivan is a hero for walking out of the proceedings without being duly authorized by the chairperson of the Committee, Soviet Lekganyane. Malema pointed out that O’Sullivan undermined the very Sauls who lauded him as a hero.

“He undermines us collectively. This guy has violated the rules of Parliament, and the rules are very clear with this kind of conduct,” Malema said.

Sauls hit back and clarified that his statement must be completed. He called Sauls a hero with holes. Quoting the Bible, Sauls added that he pointed out that O’Sullivan’s breastplate of righteousness was out of place, which pointed to a self-righteousness that was displayed during the proceedings. He insisted that he was not in defence of O’Sullivan and said that his disrespect must be dealt with.

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“I maintain: He’s a hero with holes,” he said.

View the X clip here:

MK Party takes swipe at Sauls

MPs of the official opposition, the MK Party, also criticised Sauls. Sibonelo Nomvalo slammed Sauls and said that heroes did not walk alone. He joked that Sauls must accompany his hero to the airport. ActionSA MP Dereleen James said that she cringed when O’Sullivan was described as a hero.

View the clip on X here:

Why did O’Sullivan walk out of the sitting?

O’Sullivan’s decision to walk out came while he was facing questions from Advocate Bongiwe Mkhize. His actions infuriated Members of Parliament, who demanded that action be taken against O’Sullivan.

O’Sullivan slams Mkhwanazi’s 6 July 2025 press briefing

In a related article, Briefly News reported that O’Sullivan criticised KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s 6 July 2025 press briefing. He claimed it was a staged distraction.

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Ad Hoc Committee: O’Sullivan and Phahlane’s bitter past back in focus as pair return to testify

Member of Parliament Ian Cameron questioned O’Sullivan’s previous statement that Mkhwanazi was unauthorised to use the Special Task Force combat gear. O’Sullivan said that Mkhwanazi was creating a red herring and that his actions were dishonest.

Source: Briefly News