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EFF’s Leigh-Ann Mathys appears in court for assault of another party member
Mathys is accused of pulling a tag from another EFF member's neck, which led to her falling over.
EFF spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys. Picture: Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius
Economic Freedom Fighter’s (EFF) spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys appeared in the Edenvale Magistrate’s Court on Monday for allegedly assaulting another member of the red berets.
EFF spokesperson Mathys arrested
Mathys was arrested last week and released on a warning.
Mathys was accompanied in court by EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.
It is alleged that Mathys assaulted EFF member Busiswe Seabe at a voting registration event at Gillooly’s Farm in Bedfordview two weeks ago.
She was charged at the Bedfordview police station. The police statement says the Seabe said Mathys asked her for her artist tag. When she refused to give it to her, Mathys allegedly pulled the tag from Seabe’s neck, which resulted in Seabe falling over.
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On Monday, the state asked for a postponement of the case so it could complete its investigations. The matter was postponed to 26 January 2024.
EFF MPs suspended without pay
On Thursday, Parliament’s Powers and Privileges Committee heard that two EFF MPs had been found guilty of contempt of Parliament.
Khanya Ceza and Nazier Paulsen will be suspended from Parliament for a month after they disrupted a National Assembly sitting.
The two MPS were charged, alongside Veronica Mente, disrupting President Cyril Ramaphosa’s question and answer session on 30 August 2022.
The EFF MPS eventually had to be removed from Parliament.
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On Thursday, Advocate Tanya Golden, the initiator in the matter, told the Powers and Privileges Committee the EFF MPs contravened the rules of Parliament.
“They certainly took part in the disturbance and the disorder. From what we have in Mr [Masibulelo] Xaso’s [secretary to the National Assembly] evidence, it delayed the proceedings almost an hour. On the facts, the members deliberately took part in the disorder and in fact aggravated the disorder which was seriously detrimental to the decorum and dignity of the House,” she said.
Mente has not yet been charged after she requested evidence of her disruptive behaviour.
