Pandemonium in Parliament: the real state of the nation

Guest blogger and NMMU student Rashied Adams shares his insights on last week's pandemonium in Parliament

Last week I witnessed how our Parliament collapsed and how the Constitution was not the supreme law of our country. Pandemonium in Parliament was the result of guarding one man, the Head of State.

I was seated in the Gallery of the National Assembly, alongside guests of honour, including former presidents FW de Klerk and Thabo Mbeki. We sat and waited patiently for the President to arrive into the Chamber and ultimately deliver his State of the Nation Address.

Before the President arrived, I secretly tried to use my cell phone (as we were banned from doing so in the Gallery) to do some social media updates. Many students back at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) asked me to do some live updates.

As I managed to secretly operate my cell phone, I realised that there was no signal in the Chamber and I thought to myself, not now stupid cell phone! The guests next to me told me that they too did not have any signal on their cell phones. I had the crazy thought of Parliament somehow disconnecting our cell phone signals – then I thought, no ways! That only happens in action movies.

I then heard a group of journalists in the Gallery starting to chant “bring back the signal” and eventually the whole Chamber started chanting the same thing while waving their cell phones. Then it struck, this is real! Parliament has jammed our signals.

The Leader of the Opposition, Honourable Mmusi Maimane stood up and firmly requested from the Speaker that the signal should be restored immediately. The man justified his request with legislature – signal jamming is illegal.

And in no time, there was signal.

It was nearly time for President Jacob Zuma to address the nation.

The entire nation expected some out of order behaviour from the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) Members of Parliament, as they have made the nation aware that they intend to disrupt the President’s address if he does not answer their number one question: when will he (President Jacob Zuma) pay back a portion of the taxpayers’ money that was used for upgrades to his Nkandla home.

Guests in the Gallery were anticipating the EFF’s disruption. The President finally made his way to the podium to deliver an address that the whole nation awaited. With some technical difficulties – his microphone was cut, surprisingly; he eventually started with his address by greeting the nation.

A few minutes into the speech, it happened, the EFF raised a point of order and that is where I thought, this is it – pandemonium.

The Gallery was heated up; it seemed as if guests were watching a new-release movie. The Speaker requested the President to stop speaking and she noted the order. The inevitable question from the EFF followed and was supressed from the Speaker in all ways possible. Leader of the EFF, Honourable Julius Malema then raised and also spoke on the question. The Speaker then asked the Sergeant-at-Arms to usher three EFF Members of Parliament, including Hon. Malema out of the Chamber. This is where the real pandemonium started.

EFF Members guarded their leader and the Sergeant-at-Arms could not do anything. I was shocked at the outbreak, it was ugly and undignified.

Things got a lot worse when the ‘Parliamentary Security’ was called in to forcefully remove all EFF Members of Parliament – do note that not all EFF members were asked to leave the Chamber. The security rushed in from all doors, wearing white shirts and dragged EFF members on the floor, over benches and out of the Chamber. The EFF members did not go down without a fight; they took of their red characteristic builder hats and beat the security guards in their faces. There was chaos in the Chamber.

The Parliamentary TV feed was cut and the nation could not see what was going on. The security guards removed all EFF members, with a thrashed Chamber – benches broken, hats on the floor, water bottles all over the show and an audience of esteemed members of society left in awe. The President seemed quite fine with the outbreak. In fact, his ANC guests and ANC Members of Parliament cheered loudly after the last fighter was pulled out of the Chamber.

The Chief Justice of our country left the Chamber immediately.

I witnessed history right there; the State of the Nation Address was interrupted for the very first time and some Members of Parliament were illegally dragged out of the Chamber and beaten up at the Speakers command.

This was a great violation to the Constitution of our country.

It was then when the Leader of the Opposition stood up and heroically took charge of a state of emergency. Honourable Maimane asked the Speaker whether those guards were police officers or not and she did not know how to answer him, until she said that the Parliamentary Security was assisted by security forces, which indeed was the SAPS. Some of the guards were armed in the Chamber. The Speaker right there violated the Constitutional principle of separation of powers.

It is dangerous for one arm of government to intimidate and overpower another, the independence of Parliament was infringed.

It was chaotic in Parliament; an uneasy atmosphere had spread across benches and seats in the Gallery.

The Leader of the Opposition then led his caucus out of the Chamber in a very principled and orderly fashion. The Speaker said that if they had left, they will do it as a party. It is then when DA Party Leader, Helen Zille also stood up from the bench where Premiers of Provinces were seated, to accompany the DA Members of Parliament. At that very moment, I stood up, as a DA member from one of the best seats in the House and led the DA guests out of the Gallery through door number five of the National Assembly.

The Democratic Alliance left as it would not support the Speaker taking the law into her own hands. Her behaviour and ‘ruling’ was unconstitutional.

We assembled in the foyer of the National Assembly and the big door to the outside of the House was opened for us to leave. The media was all over, taking photographs and ready to get statements from the DA.

Outside were EFF members, bruised and full of blood as a result of being manhandled by the SAPS.

Last night was a turning point in our democracy – the ANC will break the law to protect one man, they will rule unjustly to protect one man, they will put loyalty above the rights of South Africans.

How constitutional was the signal jamming, cutting the live TV feed, the forceful removal of Members of Parliament who was not even asked to leave the Chamber, bringing armed police officers into the Chamber and beating up Members of Parliament?

Parliament is in a crisis under the leadership of the ANC.