{"id":95952,"date":"2026-02-16T16:29:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T16:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/eff-seeks-to-remove-malusi-gigaba-as-defence-co-chair"},"modified":"2026-02-16T17:18:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T17:18:24","slug":"eff-seeks-to-remove-malusi-gigaba-as-defence-co-chair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/eff-seeks-to-remove-malusi-gigaba-as-defence-co-chair","title":{"rendered":"EFF Seeks To Remove Malusi Gigaba As Defence Co-Chair"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) say they will write to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, requesting the removal of African National Congress (ANC) MP Malusi Gigaba as Co-Chairperson of Parliament\u2019s Joint Standing Committee on Defence.<\/p>\n

EFF MP Carl Niehaus argues that while Gigaba faces corruption charges, it is inappropriate for him to remain in the position. The pair engaged in a war of words during a committee meeting on Friday over the matter, with Gigaba arguing that Niehaus\u2019 complaint had nothing to do with him.<\/p>\n

After Malusi Gigaba was added to a Transnet corruption case last November, he announced he would step aside from political activity within the ANC, adhering to the party\u2019s step-aside policy. However, he did not relinquish his role as a parliamentary committee chairperson.<\/p>\n

Niehaus contends that Gigaba\u2019s alleged former relations with the Gupta brothers render him too compromised to conduct proper oversight over the Defence Force.<\/p>\n

“This is a fundamental conflict, Chair; it is untenable,” Niehaus stated.<\/p>\n

Gigaba hit back at Niehaus, saying he was merely seated next to the Co-Chairperson, Phiroane Phala, and not managing the meeting.<\/p>\n

“If the EFF had any decency whatsoever, you would have raised these issues with the presiding officers so that they are addressed there,” Gigaba replied.<\/p>\n

Gigaba also accused Niehaus of having had a relationship with the Gupta brothers, who are at the heart of the kickback allegations he faces regarding his tenure as Public Enterprises Minister. Niehaus vehemently denied this and challenged Gigaba to present proof.<\/p>\n

Gigaba is due back in court later this week.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) say they will write to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, requesting the removal of African National Congress (ANC) MP Malusi Gigaba as Co-Chairperson of Parliament\u2019s Joint Standing Committee on Defence. EFF MP Carl Niehaus argues that while Gigaba faces corruption charges, it is inappropriate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":95951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-95952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nEFF Seeks To Remove Malusi Gigaba As Defence Co-Chair - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) say they will write to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, requestin ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/eff-seeks-to-remove-malusi-gigaba-as-defence-co-chair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EFF Seeks To Remove Malusi Gigaba As Defence Co-Chair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) say they will write to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, requestin ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/eff-seeks-to-remove-malusi-gigaba-as-defence-co-chair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-16T16:29:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-16T17:18:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/02\/sm_1771249466.029059.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/eff-seeks-to-remove-malusi-gigaba-as-defence-co-chair#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/eff-seeks-to-remove-malusi-gigaba-as-defence-co-chair\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"EFF Seeks To Remove Malusi Gigaba As Defence Co-Chair\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-16T16:29:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-16T17:18:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/eff-seeks-to-remove-malusi-gigaba-as-defence-co-chair\"},\"wordCount\":284,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/eff-seeks-to-remove-malusi-gigaba-as-defence-co-chair#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/02\/sm_1771249466.029059.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/eff-seeks-to-remove-malusi-gigaba-as-defence-co-chair#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/eff-seeks-to-remove-malusi-gigaba-as-defence-co-chair\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/eff-seeks-to-remove-malusi-gigaba-as-defence-co-chair\",\"name\":\"EFF Seeks To Remove Malusi Gigaba As Defence Co-Chair - 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