HOUSE OF SHAMBLES
Unprecedented scenes of chaos in parliament as EFF and DA MPs disrupt Zuma’s state of the nation address
CHAOS: EFF leaders and MPs Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu are forcibly removed from parliament last night after party MPs disrupted President Jacob Zuma ’ s state of the nation address, demanding that he tell the nation when he would pay back the public money used for upgrades at his private home in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal
HISTORY was made in the National Assembly chamber last night when the state of the nation address desended into violence.
For the first time in South Africa ’ s democratic order, the President of the Republic was disrupted when delivering his Sona after Julius Malema and his EFF MPs traded blows with parliament ’ s security officers as they were forcefully ejected them from the house.
It was also the first time a political party staged a walkout from the Sona when DA parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane led his party ’ s MPs as they walked out of the chamber in protest against the alleged deployment of the police.
It was also the first time there was no cellphone signal in the chamber, as well as water, owing to Nehawu ’ s strike. All these events unfolded before President Jacob Zuma, former presidents Thabo Mbeki and FW de Klerk, leadership of the judiciary, diplomats representing foreign countries as well as religious and business leaders.
All hell broke lose when Malema and his party demanded that Zuma explain when he was going to pay back some of the public money spend on his Nkandla homestead.
But when Speaker Baleka Mbete ruled that the Sona was no occasion for the President to take questions, Malema would have none of that, eventually forcing the speaker to ask him to leave the house.
“’I m not going to leave, chair,” he shouted back. However Mbete ordered parliament ’ s security officers, who had been prepared for the fighting match after being trained on manhandling techniques last week, to remove Malema and his MPs.
Attempts by about 24 EFF MPs to form a human shield around Malema and prevent the security forces failed as they applied force to eject them, resulted in a trade of fists, with the EFF members using their hard hats to attack security personnel.
ANC MP and Small Business Minister Lindiwe Zulu clapped and cheered as the security services fought with EFF members.
Desks were overturned and sev- eral hard hats remaining scattered on the floor.
EFF MP Bernard Joseph, who is a large man, fought back hard, requiring several men to carry him and Malema out.
Veteran MP and IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi registered his disgust when he spontaneously stood up to address the house on the matter.
“I think what has just happened is not what we as the majority of this house want to see; we can ’ t have people indulging in fists, tearing our country apart, what has happened is utter nonsense,” said an angry Buthelezi.
Thandi Modise, the National Council of Provinces chairperson who was co-presiding with Mbete, strongly defended the use of physical force.
"Honourable members, it is understandable that we ’ ll react to what we ’ ve just witnessed. It ’ s something the rules of Parliament never anticipated would happen. Therefore let ’ s agree that such incidents will not happen again in our Parliament," said Modise.
Speaking to the media after his brawl with the security officers, Malema alleged that he and his MPs had been manhandled by SAPS members belonging to the Presidential Protection Unit and not parliament ’ s security personnel.
He said he was unshaken and his party would remain a thorn on the side of Zuma.
"It's a sad day that elected representatives can be beaten by police and including women. Reneilwe Mashabela was held by no less than seven men. One of them was beating her in the face with a shoe and they kept her into a corner where we could not see her and continued to assault her. We have since taken her to hospital.
"We've got almost seven members who are injured and all of them are encouraged to open [criminal cases]. This is a direct threat to democracy, that those who don ’ t agree with the state, they are subjected to the harsh treatment of the security institutions. Police are used to settle political differences.
“This has put our democracy in a serious danger but you must rest assured that is just the beginning. We [will continue] to participate in this Parliament up until the executive takes this institution serious,” said Malema.
“We are not going to stop to demand answers from number one tsotsi [President Zuma].”
The DA, which has always opposed the deployment of police, walked out in protest after Mbete and Modise could not say whether the people removing the EFF MPs were indeed from the police.