Parliamentary sessions are televised and meant to keep South Africans abreast of political developments. But this year has seen a number of times when shade was thrown, and boy, do South Africans love a bit of drama.
Is dit die “narre” of die stoele wat rondgegooi word, afgebreek word – SA parlement het ook hul eie uitgooiers met die wit hempies, seker om “vrede te bewaar. Watter kwalifikasie is nodig vir die narre huis in Kaapstad?
Timeslive wandel in die gange van die parlement
DA, EFF and Agang fight it out
When Julius Malema interrupted the DA’s John Steenhuisen in parliament in November, Steenhuisen’s response was: “Can the VBS bank looters please give me a chance?” He was alluding to reports that EFF leaders were implicated in what has become known as the VBS bank heist. The situation escalated quickly, with Agang MP Andries Tlouamma also joining the brawl and trading punches with the EFF’s Nazier Paulsen.
Minister ‘Pinky’
Not every parliamentary altercation ends with fists flying. Shortly before he resigned as home affairs minister, Malusi Gigaba was embroiled in a sex video saga that trended for days, even inspiring the hashtag #GigabaChallenge. Gigaba said the video, which he had recorded for his wife’s pleasure, was stolen from his phone by hackers. In the days that followed, parliament was in session and EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi couldn’t resist the urge to throw shade at Gigaba. Ndlozi suggested that the president issue phones without cameras to minister to avoid embarrassing scandals. Gigaba then waved his little finger at Ndlozi, earning himself the nickname Minister Pinky.
Willie Madisha brings groceries to the house
When Cope MP Willie Madisha brought a loaf of bread and a packet of samp to parly, people were impressed that he had gone past the grocery store just to prove that the living wage under discussion was inadequate.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s diss track
In May, the president said to the DA’s Steenhuisen: “Shut up, you, Steenhuisen, and listen… I want you to shut up. I really want you to shut up.” Steenhuisen had been interrupting the president’s responses to questions from MPs. That flare-up was enough to send social media music producers to their sound mixers to preserve the moment in a number of songs, all titled, you guessed it, Shut up.
‘Dipstick in the wrong hole’
Deputy speaker of parliament, Lechesa Tsenoli, usually has his hands full trying to keep order in parliament. Most times, he manages to do this with ease. But sometimes the honourable members make his task a difficult one. August 30 was one such challenging day. Tsenoli ended up making the comment, “You’ve got your dipstick in the wrong hole,” when an MP complained about not being given enough time to speak.
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The speaker says the word ‘anarchist’ is a political statement, but has a problem with it being used on him. Deputy speaker in the National Assembly Lechesa Tsenoli was involved in a war of words with EFF MP Khonziwe Hlonyana over the word “anarchist”, which was used to describe the red berets in parliament on Tuesday. Hlonyana stood up on a point of order and asked Tsenoli to call on Freedom Front+ MP Wouter Wessels to withdraw the word “anarchist”, which he had used to describe the EFF, a request he immediately turned down. Wessels used the word to slam the EFF following a video of Eckhard Binding picking up litter and putting it in a trash bin, only for two waiting female EFF members to throw it back on the ground. He said: “There are parties in this house that are only seeking anarchy, violence, and who are not interested in building a better South Africa for all. We need more people like Binding who take a stand against anarchists like the EFF. We should not allow anarchists to win.” But Tsenoli said the word was a “political statement”. He said: “Honourable member, that’s a political statement, there’s nothing wrong with it.” But Hlonyana was not backing down, and neither was Tsenoli. As a last resort, Hlonyana called Tsenoli an anarchist to see how he would react to it, and he played right into the trap. He said: “Okay, honourable member, you will withdraw that now,” to which she responded: “Why? Why must I withdraw? You said he must not withdraw, why must I withdraw when I say it’s you?” The reason he gave was that Hlonyana did not understand the rules.
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Take a look at some of the best moments in South African Parliament between Mam Khawula of the Economic freedom fighters and the Deputy speaker Lechesa Tsenoli.
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A scuffle broke out in parliament on November 6 2018 during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s question and answer session. The scuffle began after an argument between DA and EFF members ensued, with the DA referring to the EFF as ‘VBS looters” and EFF leader Julius Malema calling the DA racist and even claiming DA chief whip John Steenhuisen had been accused of rape.
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Parliament turned into a boxing ring on November 6 2018 as EFF member Nazier Paulsen and Agang’s Andries Tlouamma got into a heated exchange, resulting in a fist fight between the parties.
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The Economic Freedom Fighters did not miss an opportunity to troll home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s question-and-answer session in parliament on Tuesday November 6 2018. Gigaba claimed earlier in the month that blackmailers had hacked his phone and distributed a sex video of him.
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Honorable Madisha brought Bread and Maize in Parliament to demonstrate that the ANC”s R20/ hour living wage is not proportionate. Leadership
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During Deputy President David Mabuza’s parliamentary Q&A on August 30 2018, the EFF alleged that the deputy speaker, Lechesa Tsenoli, was unfairly giving the ANC more time to speak. Tsenoli replied by saying, “you’ve got your dipstick in the wrong hole”.
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