City Speaker Felicity Purchase has confirmed that she is reviewing video footage and audio, following council chaos on 30 July, which saw an EFF Councillor, Mzubanzi Dambuza,  allegedly placed in a chokehold by security guards.

The alleged violence unfolded after Purchase ordered Dambuza to leave the Council chambers for continued heckling. After he refused to leave, security personnel stepped in.

A video on social media shows security guards restraining Dambuza under a table, and his colleagues trying to shield him, shouting at the security personnel to stop choking Dambuza. GOOD Party Councillor Roscoe Palm witnessed and filmed the incident.

Palm later accompanied Dambuza and other EFF members to lay criminal charges against those responsible. In a statement, Palm called on the Speaker to step down, accusing her of failing in her duty to apply the Rules of Order fairly and consistently.

“During the oral question period following the Mayor’s address, a session clearly regulated by Rule 11.2 of the Council’s own Rules of Order, the Speaker unlawfully allowed a Point of Order. That decision alone broke the very rules we are all expected to uphold and set in motion the chaos that followed.

“I witnessed and recorded a public representative being choked to the point of unconsciousness, and then some more. This recalls the killing of George Floyd in the United States. I immediately notified the speaker’s table that a councillor was being assaulted to the point where their lives were at risk, and I would have done the same for any councillor of any political party. I have further given my statement to the police as a witness to the assault.”

The rules are clear: no Points of Order, no Points of Clarity, and no debate is allowed during this session. The Speaker’s decision to ignore that rule opened the door for disorder. And while opposition councillors were shouted down or named for raising legitimate concerns, members of the Democratic Alliance were allowed to heckle throughout the question session without consequence.

This double standard is dangerous for our democracy. Council cannot function when the Speaker herself undermines the rules. We cannot expect order and respect when the person tasked with ensuring it is the first to violate the rules.”

The GOOD party called for an urgent investigation into the Speaker’s handling of the session, and disciplinary action against all councillors who disrupted proceedings, regardless of political party.

In response, the Speaker’s office said she will refer the matter to the City’s Disciplinary Committee for investigation, once she has reviewed the available records of the incident.

Purchase goes on to say Dambuza and the rest of the EFF caucus continuously refused to obey instructions and peacefully leave chambers, and persisted in their disruptive conduct while also actively obstructing the efforts of the designated peace officers to restore order in chambers.

“The EFF’s actions culminated in an attempt to prevent the enforcement of Council Rules through physical obstruction. I have been informed that certain members of the EFF physically assaulted designated peace officers, resulting in injuries that required hospitalisation.”

Purchase concluded that her stance on councillors who deliberately engage in disorder “for the sake of political theatre is a matter of public record.”

“As Speaker, I will not permit a minority of councillors to hold the Council and its work to ransom. Order, respect for democratic processes, and the integrity of Council proceedings will be upheld without exception.”

*This article has been updated to reflect the response of the City Speaker, Felicity Purchase