Chaos again at Pan-African Parliament

TEMPERS flared again at the Pan-African Parliament sitting in Midrand yesterday as members halted the scheduled elections, complaining that they felt unsafe in South Africa.

“We want this parliament to be relocated to another country. We are going to be killed here in South Africa,” some shouted.

“No relocation, no election,” others chanted.

On Friday, one of South Africa’s representatives in the parliament, EFF leader Julius Malema, had a heated exchange with another member and mentioned that he would “kill” that fellow parliamentarian.

Tension was palpable within the chambers of the legislative body of the AU as members had sat yesterday to elect new leadership amid fierce contestation.

Events came to a head on Friday after it was announced that the elections would not go ahead as scheduled, as a staffer had tested positive for Covid-19. The elections were then postponed, igniting heated exchanges between the parliamentarians.

A visibly angry Malema, pointing his finger, could be heard threatening to tackle a fellow member wearing green.

Malema said: “What kind of leadership is this? Nonsense!”

“You are pointing me with a finger now? No, I will definitely kill you outside this building,” Malema shouted.

South African MPs, with Malema leading the charge, were of the view that the elections should be postponed, and the sitting adjourned immediately in line with Covid-19 protocols.

Parliamentarians opposed to the postponement maintained that the said Covid-19 case was a strategy to postpone the term of office of the controversial incumbent, Cameroonian Roger Nkodo Dang.

In a statement after the adjournment on Friday, Vipya Harawa, clerk of the Pan-African Parliament, confirmed that there had been a temporary closure after the reported case of Covid19.