Gigaba remains Defence Committee co-chair after Thoko Didiza ruling
National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza has ruled that the election of ANC MP Mzimasi Hala to replace Malusi Gigaba as National Assembly co-chairperson of Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) was not procedurally correct.
In a letter responding to an urgent complaint from the Economic Freedom Fighters, Didiza said her office had received no formal communication from the ANC about a change in Gigaba’s membership status, and no resignation letter from Gigaba himself.
“I agree that the purported change in the membership status of Dr Gigaba without any formal communication is not procedurally correct,” she wrote. Any election of a replacement would have to follow receipt of that formal communication. “Pending that process, the status quo prior to the meeting on September 2 remains.”
That means Gigaba remains the committee’s NA co-chair, alongside NCOP co-chair Phiroane Phala, until the ANC follows the Joint Rules. Didiza also referred to the Joint Rules Committee the question of whether a change in a co-chairperson’s status must be published in the Announcements, Tablings and Committee (ATC) reports.
The dispute erupted at a chaotic JSCD meeting on Wednesday, 2 September, when Phala told members that Gigaba had been “relieved from his responsibilities.” ANC members then pushed through Hala’s election. Opposition MPs, including the EFF’s Carl Niehaus and DA members, objected that there was no written withdrawal from the party whip, no resignation from Gigaba, and no vacancy recorded in the ATC.
Joint Rule 70(2) requires a party whip to give written notice to the Speaker that a member is to be replaced or withdrawn. Without that notice, opposition parties argued, there was no vacancy to fill. The EFF abstained from the vote and later asked Didiza to declare the election unlawful and of no force.
Gigaba, a former minister, has faced months of pressure to leave the sensitive defence oversight role while he answers fraud and corruption charges linked to Transnet locomotive contracts. He previously stepped aside from ANC political activity but stayed on as JSCD co-chair, arguing that party processes do not override parliamentary rules. The ANC has not publicly explained why it moved to remove him this week.
Until written notice reaches the Speaker and a vacancy is properly created, Didiza’s ruling leaves the committee as it was before Wednesday’s meeting.
