By Johnathan Paoli
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has threatened legal action against KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Speaker Nontembeko Boyce, describing her decision to suspend 36 Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs) as unlawful, politically motivated and an abuse of power.
The party says it is consulting its legal team after Boyce imposed sanctions following a chaotic and violent sitting of the legislature earlier this month.
MKP Chief Whip Siphiwe Moyo-Mbatha said the suspensions lacked procedural fairness and amounted to selective punishment of MKP members.
“There’s no procedural fairness. She just decided to suspend members of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party. Therefore, we take these letters as a joke,” Moyo-Mbatha said.
He added that the party believed the Speaker was “abusing the powers and privileges that she has” and warned that legal remedies were being actively considered.
The suspensions stem from a dramatic sitting of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature on 15 December in Pietermaritzburg, when a motion of no confidence against Premier Thami Ntuli descended into disorder.
The motion, brought by the MKP, was presided over by Boyce, an ANC member.
Tensions escalated after MKP and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MPLs objected to several of the Speaker’s rulings during the proceedings.
According to reports from the sitting, MKP and EFF members disrupted the chamber after expressing frustration with how the motion was handled.
The situation deteriorated into physical confrontations, with members allegedly attempting to prevent Boyce from leaving the chamber.
Video footage and eyewitness accounts indicate pushing, shoving and verbal abuse directed at the Speaker, while clashes also broke out between protesting MPLs and South African Police Service (SAPS) officers deployed to restore order.
One female MPL was seen assaulting a police officer during the scuffle.
Following the incident, Boyce announced the suspension of 36 MPLs, 35 from the MK Party and one from the EFF, citing violent and unlawful conduct.
In a statement issued on Monday, she said the affected members had engaged in a “deliberate, coordinated assault on the dignity of the House”.
The suspensions bar the members from attending five consecutive sittings of the legislature, starting from 12 January next year, and include the loss of remuneration for those days.
Boyce stressed that the legislature would not tolerate violence, intimidation or deliberate disruption of its proceedings.
“The Legislature stands opposed to violence, intimidation and deliberate disruption of proceedings and vows to protect the authority and the dignity of the House without any exceptions,” she said.
The chaos ultimately resulted in the failure of the motion of no confidence against Ntuli.
After MKP and EFF members refused to participate in the vote, Boyce ruled that the motion had failed, allowing Ntuli to remain in office as Premier.
Ntuli has since publicly backed the Speaker’s decision, arguing that discipline was essential to preserving the integrity of the legislature and adding that accountability must apply equally to all MPLs, regardless of party affiliation.
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