Zuma impeachment debates begins with calls for Mbete to recuse herself
The debate in the National Assembly on the Democratic Alliance’s motion calling for President Jacob Zuma to be impeached got off to a rowdy start with opposition parties calling for the Speaker‚ Baleka Mbete‚ to step down.
The first one to rise on a point of order was the EFF’s Floyd Shivambu who pointed out that the Constitutional Court had found that the National Assembly had violated the Constitution.
“You don’t deserve to be in that seat because you are not supposed to be sitting here.
“Will you please step down. Step down please‚” Shivambu said.
DA chief whip John Steenhuisen also rose on a point of order to ask Mbete to recuse herself saying she was a respondent in the Constitutional Court hearing and was therefore a “partner in crime”.
He asked that the Deputy Speaker preside over the debate.
“You are not an unbiased umpire in this matter”
EFF leader Julius Malema then rose and repeated the call for Mbete to recuse herself from the debate.
“We’re discussing Zuma now. We can’t discuss Zuma with you presiding over this matter. Letter Deputy Speaker sit there.
“You are not qualified to sit where you are. The best thing is to recuse yourself.”
Malema later added: “You voted for Nkandla report. You vote for wrong things. Listen to superior logic. Bloody voting cattle.
“You are Parliament. You must take responsibility for this mess.”
Congress of the People Party Terror Lekota also added his voice to the chorus of calls.
The ANC’s Jackson Mthembu argued that the Constitutional Court ruling was against the National Assembly‚ not the Speaker.|
Mbete responded to the calls by saying that nothing in the Constitution or the rules of Parliament required that she recuse herself.
She proposed that it be put to the vote whether she should recuse herself‚ to which Steenhuisen responded: “We ask that you provide a ruling rather than forcing a vote.”
Mbete later asked for proceedings to be suspended for 10 minutes so that she could consult with the whips of the various parties.
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