This comes after the EFF formally submitted a motion of no confidence in Didiza.
National Assembly speaker Thoko Didia has slammed misinformation about her handling of the impeachment proceedings. Picture: Gallo Images/Brenton Geach
National Assembly speaker Thoko Didiza has criticised misinformation about her handling of the impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa, maintaining that she complied with all constitutional court directives.
This comes after the EFF formally submitted a motion of no confidence in Didiza on Friday, 26 June 2026, calling for the matter to be prioritised in parliament’s agenda.
The red berets are angry that Didiza refused to oppose the president’s bid to interdict the impeachment committee.
Didiza hit back
However, Didiza said she carried out her duties, including swiftly tabling the Section 89 Independent Panel Report and setting up a multiparty committee.
Didiza said while she’s not opposing Ramaphosa’s bid, she is making Parliament’s case clear to the Western Cape High Court, where the president filed his application.
Misinformation
Parliament said Didiza has taken note of the misinformation surrounding her stance on the matter.
“That narrative is demonstrably false, and the record speaks for itself. From the moment the Constitutional Court handed down its judgment, the Speaker acted immediately and without delay to implement every aspect of the Court’s order. Far from weakening the Committee, the Speaker strengthened it.”
It said Didiza has equally protected the Impeachment Committee’s institutional integrity throughout its work.
“When calls were made to exclude certain Members of the Committee on allegations that they were not fit and proper to participate, the Speaker upheld the Rules of the National Assembly and defended the right of duly appointed members to serve unless and until there existed a lawful basis to determine otherwise.”
Undermining the committee’s work
Parliament said that if Didiza had wished to halt, frustrate, or undermine the committee’s work, she had the opportunity to do so.
“She refused. It is therefore difficult to reconcile the allegation that the Speaker is somehow opposed to the Committee’s work with the undisputed fact that she refused to accede to the very request that would have brought that work to a standstill.”
Motion of no confidence
Parliament said Didiza has also noted the submission of a proposed motion of no confidence in her by the EFF.
It dismissed the EFF’s motion of no confidence as baseless, stressing that the Speaker’s record “demonstrably contradicts” the allegations.
Parliament said Didiza has consistently implemented the Constitutional Court’s judgment, safeguarded the independence of the Impeachment Committee, and ensured Parliament fulfilled its constitutional obligations.
Ramaphosa interdict
Central to the EFF’s argument is Didiza’s decision not to oppose Ramaphosa’s urgent interdict application.
The application seeks to pause the parliamentary impeachment process pending a separate legal review.
The Western Cape High Court in Cape Town is scheduled to hear the matter on 15 and 16 July, where Ramaphosa aims to halt proceedings until the review of the Section 89 panel’s report is concluded.
Section 89
In a parallel process, Ramaphosa is seeking to overturn the findings of the Section 89 panel, chaired by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo.
The panel previously concluded that Ramaphosa had questions to answer regarding the theft of approximately $580 000 (about R9.6 million) from his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in February 2020.
The Western Cape High Court has scheduled the review application to be heard between 2 and 4 September, with opposing parties required to file notices of motion by 7 July.
ConCourt ruling
The legal developments follow a Constitutional Court (ConCourt) ruling in May, which found that parliament had acted unlawfully by blocking impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa in December 2022.
As a result, the National Assembly was compelled to establish a formal impeachment committee to investigate the allegations further.
The committee – made up of 31 MPs from 16 political parties – is chaired by Rise Mzansi’s chief organiser, Makashule Gana.
Gana has already signalled the committee’s intention to oppose the president’s interdict application.
