EFF leader Julius Malema found guilty of breaching parliament’s code of ethical conduct on two counts.
The joint committee on ethics has found that Malema violated the code of ethics for MPs by failing to uphold the law when he called for foreign nationals to find “creative ways” to enter SA after its borders were closed in terms of the Covid lockdown in January.
The committee has left it to the National Assembly to determine a sanction against Malema. According to the code, Malema could be reprimanded by the house and/or have some of his salary docked.
The ethics committee probed Malema on the matter following a complaint filed by ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba.
The committee also found that Malema had breached the ethics code in his questioning of judge Keoagile Elias Matojane during Judicial Service Commission (JSC) interviews in April.
Malema should not have questioned the judge on a matter that personally involved him and his party — a defamation lawsuit against it brought by former finance minister Trevor Manuel.
After watching video footage of Malema’s questions to Matojane, the committee was of the view that as a representative of the National Assembly on the JSC he should not have asked questions about a case that related to him personally.
“You are required to serve the interests of the public and not use the platform for your own interests, especially since the matter, at the time of the interview, was before a court of law,” ethics committee registrar Anthea Gordon wrote to Malema this week.
“In light of this, the committee found that you breached the code.”
Malema was found to have breached a section of the code that stipulates that MPs must act on all occasions in accordance with the public trust placed in them; and discharge their obligations, in terms of the constitution, to parliament and the public by placing the public interest above their own.
Malema has until October 7 to submit written representation on a penalty or sanction.
