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Julius Malema’s statement that the ANC government had massacred
Marikana miners was not unparliamentarily, the Supreme Court of Appeal said
today.
The court dismissed an appeal by National Council of Provinces
chairperson Thandi Modise, after a ruling that she acted incorrectly in asking
the Economic Freedom Fighters leader to leave the National Assembly for saying
the government massacred Marikana mine workers.
“Malema spoke in Parliament about what has been described as ‘a
burning issue of immense public interest’. The Constitution guards Parliament’s
role as an incubator of political speech. There is nothing unparliamentary about
robust, emotive language,” it said.
The court also said the standing order does not – and
constitutionally cannot – go as far as impeding political speech.
“It does not censor criticism of the government or its ruling
party. Importantly, Mr Malema initially referred only to the ANC ... The police
fall under the authority of the ANC-led government.
“The chairperson’s case rests on a false equivalence between
‘government’ and members of Parliament. However, they are not the same –
criticism of government is not criticism of members of Parliament.”
The court also said Modise had misconstrued her powers under the
standing order. It said the purpose of her powers was to ensure that
parliamentary debates were not marred by personal insults directed at members.
“It follows that, even if Mr Malema had directed criticism at
members of Parliament, the standing order still did not find application because
his words were constitutionally protected political speech.”
In August last year, the Western Cape High Court set aside Modise’s
decisicion that Malema had to withdraw his statement that the “ANC government
massacred” the mine workers at Marikana and that the police officers who killed
them had represented the ANC government. It set aside her decision to ask Malema
to leave the National Assembly, after he refused to withdraw the remarks he made
during a sitting in June 2014.
The court said Modise’s ruling that Malema’s statement was
unparliamentary was unlawful and that his refusal to withdraw it was legitimate.
On August 16 2012, police shot dead 34 striking workers at Lonmin’s
mine in Marikana, North West. Ten people, including three miners, two police
officers, and two Lonmin security guards, were killed during the strike the
previous week. – News24
