This is Why the EFF Decided Not to Interrupt the 2019 SONA
South Africans all waited to see whether or not the EFF would disrupt the State of the Nation Address last night.
Leader Julius Malema and the EFF via Flickr Creative Commons
Last night, President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his maiden State of the Nation Address (SONA) in parliament. There were concerns that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), as in previous years, would disrupt the proceedings. However, the comrades were impeccably well-behaved.
Prior to the 2019 SONA, the EFF had threatened that they would disrupt the proceedings if President Ramaphosa did not engage them in a Q&A which centered on his accounting for a large sum of money from the embattled business conglomerate, Bosasa, that was used to pay for his political party's campaign.
RELATED
-
Today in Africa — December 31, 2025: Junta Leader Wins Guinea Vote, Anthony Joshua Crash Probe Deepens, South Africa Reports 41 Initiation Deaths
OkayAfrica has scoured the Internet for today’s major news stories, so you don't have to. On Dec 31, coverage includes Guinea’s coup leader, Mamady Doumbouya, being declared the winner of the presidential vote, an ongoing investigation into the fatal Nigeria crash that killed two members of Anthony Joshua’s team, South Africa reporting dozens of deaths linked to traditional initiation circumcisions, and more.
In a statement to SAfm, the chairperson of the EFF, Dali Mpofu, said:
"Ramaphosa will be the one disrupting the SONA because we cannot sit when we have a president who has lied. We cannot be addressed by someone on serious matters of the state when he has committed an impeachable offence. So, if Ramaphosa continues without addressing the Bosasa matter, he will be the one disrupting the SONA."
Following the completion of last night's SONA, EFF leader Julius Malema said:
"After the press conference of the EFF, the president had an interview with eNCA, answered the Public Protector, including releasing the statement he has given to the Public Protector. This is the president who says to all of us that he is available to account."
Watch the video that was posted onto the EFF's Twitter page.
