FEW will have forgotten the chaotic scenes during President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation address to Parliament in February 2015. Two events remain etched in the memories of all those watching the proceedings on television, or following them on radio or social media.Mobile devices could not at first be used to disseminate information from the chamber because the government jammed the communications signals. Then, members of the EFF interrupted Zuma’s speech to ask the president when he would pay back taxpayer money spent on upgrading his private residence. The speaker of the National Assembly refused to allow the questions, the EFF MPs persisted, and the speaker ordered their removal by force. During the violent removal, Parliament’s broadcast feed focused only on the presiding officers: the speaker and the chairwoman of the National Council of Provinces.These events led to an urgent application being launched by Primedia Broadcasting and three nongovernmental organisations — the...
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