Opposition South African MPs traded blows today with security forces who moved to eject them from Parliament after they tried to block South African President Jacob Zuma's annual address to the nation.
MPs from the opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) obstructed Zuma's speech for more than an hour, considering that he no longer has the legitimacy to address the people, and then, in a general commotion, thirty members of Parliament's security kicked them out.
"We have before us an irredeemable man, rotten to the core," said Julius Malema, the leader of the EFF, pointing the finger at President Zuma, who is accused of corruption. Another opposition MP accused Zuma of being a "constitutional violator".
In March, a court found Zuma guilty of violating the Constitution for using state funds to renovate his private residence. The president has since returned part of the money spent, i.e. half a million euros.
After first commenting and listening to the intrusions, the Speaker of the Parliament Baleka Mbete asked the EFF MPs, dressed in the red overalls of miners and cleaners, to leave the Assembly. When they refused, security kicked them out.
After that general chaos, the deputies of the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, left the hall in protest.
President Zuma was able to deliver his speech more than an hour late.
This is the third year in a row that EFF MPs have disrupted Zuma's annual address to the nation.
Strong security measures were in place due to the President's speech, and more than 400 soldiers were deployed around the Parliament building and the police presence was increased.
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