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Nazier Paulsen

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The Honourable
Nazier Paulsen
MP
Member of the National Assembly
In office
20 May 2015 – 28 May 2024
Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament
In office
21 May 2014 – May 2015
Member of the National Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 August 2024
Personal details
Born
Mogamad Nazier Paulsen
Political partyEconomic Freedom Fighters
SpouseAishah Cassiem
Alma materUniversity of Cape Town

Mogamad Nazier Paulsen is South African politician currently serving as a Member of the National Assembly for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). Prior to serving parliament, he served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament.[1]

Early life and career

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Nazier Paulsen and his family had previously been part of the anti-apartheid movement. Paulsen was a member of the United Democratic Front.[2] He obtained a BCom Honours degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Distributed Systems from the University of Cape Town. He was previously an Information and Technology lecturer at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Paulsen also served as the chairperson of the Mitchells Plain Community Development Corporation and the chairperson of the South African Progressive Civic Organisation (SAPCO).[3]

Paulsen joined the Economic Freedom Fighters in 2013. He was the party's Western Cape Premier candidate for the 2014 general elections. The EFF won one seat in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. Paulsen filled the seat on 21 May 2014.[4][5]

In May 2015, the EFF redeployed him to the National Assembly of South Africa. Bernard Joseph succeeded him as the EFF's sole representative in the Provincial Parliament. He won a second term as a Member of Parliament in May 2019.[3][6][7]

Paulsen was not ranked high enough on the EFF national list to be returned to the National Assembly after the 2024 general election.[8][9]

Incidents

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When Paulsen took office as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, he was assigned a laptop. He resigned as a Member of the Provincial Parliament in May 2015 and initially refused to hand the laptop back.[10] The Provincial Parliament approached the police, and he was charged with theft.[11] The charge was withdrawn in July 2019.[12]

On 6 November 2018, Paulsen was involved in a fracas with Agang MP, Andries Tlouamma.[13] In response, President Cyril Ramaphosa called on MPs to embrace non-racialism when interacting with one another.[14] The footage of the occurrence was referred to Parliament's Disciplinary Committee.[15]

On 15 August 2019, Paulsen appeared in court due to his alleged assault of a man that was parked outside his ex-wife's house in early-August. His next court appearance was in September.[16][17]

On 19 November 2019, Paulsen was asked to leave the National Assembly following his refusal to retract his statement that Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan appoints SOE staff based on their race.[18]

During a sitting of the National Assembly in March 2021, Paulsen told DA MP Phumzile van Damme to go back to Eswatini and the DA chief whip in the National Assembly, Natasha Mazzone, to go back to Italy. Deputy speaker Lechesa Tsenoli then ordered Paulsen to leave the House amid the tension. As Paulsen was leaving, the DA's Van Damme waved at him and Tsenoli told her not to be provocative. Van Damme then said that Paulsen allegedly threatened to "beat her up" and got into an argument with EFF MPs. She was then ordered to leave and was accompanied by two male DA MPs, Kevin Mileham and Chris Hunsinger. Paulsen denied threatening her.[19][20] On 28 July 2021, the National Assembly's Power and Privileges Committee decided that it would investigate the matter and that Paulsen would face disciplinary hearings for his actions. It is alleged that he also threatened to assault two other DA MPs at the sitting back in March.[21][22]

In January 2023, the Cape Youth Front (CYF) filed charges against Mr Paulsen after he called for supporters of Cape independence to be executed on social media platform X (formerly twitter).[23] In addition, in response to a pro-Cape Independence account he said: “we should start finding the IP addresses of these accounts and start locating the people behind it”. The CYF consequently formally laid charges against Mr Paulsen, on ground of incitement to commit violence under Section 17 of the Riotous Assembly Act [no. 17 of 1956].[24]

References

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  1. ^ EFF MP allegedly can’t wait to ‘moer’ the BLF in parliament, The Citizen, 8 May 2019. Retrieved on 16 August 2019.
  2. ^ Mr Nazier Paulsen (EFF), People's Assembly, 15 January 2018. Retrieved on 16 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b Nazier Paulsen and Hlayiseka Chewane sworn in as MPs - EFF, Politicsweb, 3 June 2015. Retrieved on 16 August 2019.
  4. ^ Felix, Jason. EFF names W Cape candidates, Cape Town, IOL, 25 March 2014. Retrieved on 16 August 2019.
  5. ^ EFF leader to give rivals ‘sleepless nights’ in legislature, IOL, 9 May 2014. Retrieved on 16 August 2019.
  6. ^ Makhafola, Gertrude. New EFF MPs sworn in, Cape Town, IOL, 3 June 2015. Retrieved on 16 August 2019.
  7. ^ Ntsabo, Mihlali. New EFF MPs sworn in, EWN, 22 May 2019. Retrieved on 16 August 2019.
  8. ^ "NPE 2024 National Candidate List" (PDF). Electoral Commission of South Africa. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  9. ^ "The 400 MPs elected to the National Assembly - IEC - DOCUMENTS | Politicsweb". www.politicsweb.co.za. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  10. ^ Felix, Jason. EFF MP returns ‘stolen’ laptop - password: ‘Stinky’, IOL, 15 May 2018. Retrieved on 16 August 2019.
  11. ^ EFF MP Nazier Paulsen in court over ‘stolen’ laptop, IOL, 16 May 2019. Retrieved on 16 August 2019.
  12. ^ Etheridge, Jenna. 'This is far from over' - EFF MP threatens legal action against DA leaders after laptop theft charge withdrawn, 12 July 2019, News24. Retrieved on 16 August 2019.
  13. ^ Selisho, Kaunda. Twitter in two minds about the Paulsen – Tlouamma scuffle, The Citizen, 7 November 2018. Retrieved on 4 September 2019.
  14. ^ Gerber, Jan. Ramaphosa calls for Parliament to embody non-racialism after EFF attacks DA, Agang's Tlouamma, News24, 6 November 2018. Retrieved on 4 September 2019.
  15. ^ Dentlinger, Lindsay. Parly brawl footage to be referred to disciplinary committee, Cape Town, EWN, 8 November 2018. Retrieved on 4 September 2019.
  16. ^ EFF MP in court on assault charge after clash with man at ex’s home, The Citizen, 16 August 2019. Retrieved on 16 August 2019.
  17. ^ VIDEO: EFF MP Nazier Paulsen filmed attacking man outside his ex-wife's house, IOL, 16 August 2019. Retrieved on 16 August 2019.
  18. ^ Gerber, Jan (19 November 2019). "EFF MP shown the door after saying Gordhan's appointments are based on race". News24. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  19. ^ Gerber, Jan (2 March 2021). "EFF's Paulsen, DA's Van Damme kicked out of National Assembly after tensions boil over". News24. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  20. ^ Nkanjeni, Unathi (4 March 2021). "War of words between DA's Phumzile Van Damme & EFF's Nazier Paulsen over alleged threats of violence". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  21. ^ Felix, Jason (29 July 2021). "Parliament to proceed with hearing on fracas between EFF's Nazier Paulsen and DA MPs". News24. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  22. ^ Davis, Gaye (29 July 2021). "EFF's Paulsen to face disciplinary proceedings for threating MPs with violence". EWN. Cape Town. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  23. ^ "EFF MP calls for execution of Cape independence supporters | The Cape Independent". www.capeindependent.com. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  24. ^ Team, C. Y. F. (15 January 2024). "Cape Youth Front Lays Charges Against Nazier Paulsen". Cape Youth Front. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
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