Rowdy MPs afforded protection from removal and arrest
An amendment to the appropriate act confirms MPs cannot be held criminally liable for anything they say, produce or reveal in the legislature
A day before the election of the sixth parliament, the president approved amendments to parliamentary laws, barring presiding officers from forcefully ejecting or arresting MPps who disrupt proceedings in a peaceful manner.
The past five years has seen the disruption of parliament mostly by EFF MPs. This happened most often when former president Jacob Zuma appeared in parliament on occasions such as the state of the nation address and when he came to answer questions. In most cases, the EFF MPs ended up being violently manhandled by parliament security and forced out of the house. In one instance, police officers were called in to quell the rowdiness, leading to a large outcry from opposition parties and political observers. In March 2016, the Constitutional Court ordered that Section 11 of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act be amended to allow for free speech in parliament. Former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke wr...
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