Right to protest: Malema argues that EFF’s storming of SONA stage is protected by Constitution

EFF leader Julius Malema and fellow party MPs who stormed the stage during President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address (SONA) claim that the Constitution protects their actions.

Following their antics on 9 February 2023, Malema and five other EFF MPs were found guilty of contempt of Parliament and slapped with a suspension, which bars them from attending the SONA next month and compels them to apologise publicly in the National Assembly.

The group of MPs have turned to the Western Cape High Court to challenge the constitutionality of certain provisions of the National Assembly rules. The EFF wants the court to declare unconstitutional and unlawful the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act.