EFF leader Julius Malema has warned that his party will disrupt President Jacob Zuma’s state of the nation address, if the leader does not appear before Parliament for a question and answer session, the City Press reported on Sunday.

Malema sent a two-page letter to Parliamentary Speaker Baleka Mbete requesting that a special sitting of the National Assembly be held before the opening of Parliament on February 12.

Malema wanted Zuma to conclude a previous question and answer session that was aborted five months ago following disruptions.

“Please note that failure to accomodate our request will give us no other option but to insist that President Jacob Zuma answer the questions [during] the state of the nation address,” said Malema in the statement.

On August 21 last year, pandemonium broke out when EFF MPs banged on their desks and chanted “Pay Back the Money”, — in relation to the Nkandla controversy — disrupting Zuma’s replies to questions.

At the time, many opposition parties expressed disatisfaction with how Zuma had answered questions related to the R246 million spent on security upgrades to his private Nkandla residence in KwaZulu-Natal.

In December, the High Court in Cape Town, however, lifted sanctions against 20 suspended EFF MPs that had been imposed following the incident.

Mbete’s spokeswoman Mandlakazi Sicgawu confirmed to the newspaper that the letter had been received and said it was receiving attention. SAPA