CAPE TOWN, Thursday 3 September 2026 — The EFF has asked National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza to overturn ANC MP Mzimasi Hala’s election as co-chairperson of Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence, arguing that Parliament filled the position before Malusi Gigaba’s departure had been formally processed.
The challenge creates a new procedural dispute around Wednesday’s replacement of Gigaba, whose removal from the committee leadership was already confirmed after the ANC relieved him of his responsibilities.
EFF chief whip Nontando Nolutshungu wrote to Didiza on Thursday asking her to declare Hala’s election irregular, unlawful and of no force and effect.
The party argues that no formal resignation or withdrawal from Gigaba had been placed before Parliament before the election.
It also says there had been no formal announcement of a vacancy through Parliament’s Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports before members were asked to elect Hala.
According to the EFF, those steps were necessary before the committee could lawfully elect a new co-chairperson.
The party has therefore asked Didiza to prevent Hala from exercising the functions of co-chairperson until the procedural dispute has been resolved.
The EFF also wants any subsequent election to take place only after Gigaba’s withdrawal or resignation has formally been recorded and the vacancy properly announced.
The challenge does not seek Gigaba’s return to the leadership position on political grounds.
The EFF has itself repeatedly called for Gigaba to be removed from the committee because of the corruption charges he faces.
Nolutshungu said the party’s opposition to Gigaba remaining as co-chairperson did not remove Parliament’s obligation to comply with its rules when replacing him.
Gigaba is an accused in a criminal case linked to Transnet’s locomotive procurement programme.
He has not been convicted, and the charges remain before the courts.
Wednesday’s committee meeting elected Hala after members were informed that the ANC had relieved Gigaba of his responsibilities as co-chairperson.
Parliamentary Communication Services subsequently said Hala’s election had been conducted in accordance with Joint Rule 73.3.
That assertion is now directly contested by the EFF.
The dispute therefore shifts the story from the ANC’s political decision to remove Gigaba to a procedural question over whether Parliament lawfully created and filled the vacancy.
The EFF has also criticised co-chairperson Phiroane Phala, accusing him of continuing with the election despite objections raised during the committee meeting.
It has asked Didiza to censure Phala over his handling of the process.
Parliament’s public committee page still listed Gigaba as a co-chairperson alongside Phala when accessed on Thursday, with Hala listed as an ordinary member of the committee.
The page may not yet have been updated following Wednesday’s election, but its current listing highlights the administrative uncertainty surrounding the change.
Hala is an ANC MP from the Eastern Cape and serves on the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.
Didiza has not yet publicly announced whether she will uphold or reject the EFF’s request.
Her decision could determine whether Hala remains in the position immediately or whether Parliament must repeat the process after formally recording Gigaba’s departure.
The dispute adds another procedural battle to Parliament’s committee system at a time when several politically significant inquiries and oversight structures are already facing challenges over appointments, recusals and procedural fairness.
