Ramaphosa, Malema exchange apologies
EFF leader Julius Malema has penned an apology to President Cyril Ramaphosa, his late ex-wife Nomazizi Mtshotshisa and his family.
This followed Malema’s claims in Parliament during a heated exchange with ANC members of Parliament, that Ramaphosa abused Mtshotshisa.
Malema was responding to claims by ANC MP Boy Mamabolo that he abused his wife Mantwa. He denied the claims and was suing Mamabolo.
His apology was after Ramaphosa in his reply to the debate on his State of the Nation address told MPs that he apologises to Malema for Mamabolo’s accusations.
“Malema as the allegation was made against you, I felt for your wife.
“It was uncalled for. You have raised the issue of my late former wife, Nomazizi, she is not here to respond for herself,” said Ramaphosa.
He said when Malema raised the issue of assaulting his other former wife, Hope Ramaphosa, she denied the allegation back in 2017.
He said the issue of GBV cannot be used for political point scoring.
Ramaphosa said the heated exchanges in Parliament over the course of the week, during the Sona debate, were shameful.
“At a time when we are called upon as a nation to intensify and deepen the struggle to end all forms of violence perpetrated by men against women, the statements made, and the purposes they were intended to serve, were disgraceful.
“They undermine the resolve that this House demonstrated in its joint sitting last September to respond to this crisis decisively and swiftly,” he said.
Yesterday Malema said: “Today, following the president’s apology to my wife and family, I stood in Parliament to extend the same hand to him, his departed wife Nomazizi and his entire family.
“I was however drowned by the ruling party benches without any protection from the presiding officers.
“After a long discussion with my wife about the president’s apology, I have decided to pen down the apology, which I should have communicated on the platform during the joint sitting of Parliament where it belonged.”
He said he called Ramaphosa to personally communicate his apology.
“In retrospect, I accept that I should have known better not to indulge myself in the same degeneration the ANC caucus visited upon my person and that of my wife.
“It was therefore in a desperate act of personal defence, which I now regret, because of how critical gender-based violence is for all of us as a country.
“I would also like to apologise to all South Africans who were affected in the process, in particular victims of gender-based violence,” Malema said.