Opposition parties are calling for National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza to recuse herself from overseeing the Phala Phala impeachment process, according to ATM leader Vuyolwethu Zungula.
Speaking outside a closed door meeting in parliament on Monday, Zungula said parties inside and outside the Government of National Unity had agreed on several principles before the committee’s first sitting. The concern stems from Didiza’s 2022 vote against processing the Section 89 report and her subsequent handling of the matter after the Constitutional Court revived the process.
Zungula said the committee should not be chaired by an ANC MP because the ANC has already taken a posture to protect the president. He noted that the ANC’s decision to vote against processing the Phala Phala report in 2022 remains central to the objections.
Parties also agreed that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s court challenge should not halt the committee’s work unless a court issues an interdict or sets aside the report. Zungula said the process must continue until either an interdict is granted or the report is set aside by a court of law.
Zungula stressed that parties are not calling for Didiza to be removed as speaker, but want her to have no oversight role in the impeachment process.
The talks came as lobbying intensified over who should chair the 31 member committee, which is expected to elect its chair when it meets at 2pm. Zungula said several names had been discussed, but parties still needed to consult senior officials. He confirmed his own name would not be put forward.
The ANC has nine members on the committee, the DA five, and the MK Party three. The EFF has two members, while several smaller parties each have one seat. The committee’s immediate task is to elect a chair before beginning work on one of the most politically significant parliamentary processes of the seventh administration.