A session of the Pan African Parliament (PAP) descended into chaos on Monday, with a ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina being kicked.
A male MP from Senegal kicked Majodina during a scuffle between MPs from francophone and anglophone countries over the election of new PAP leadership. The MP, identified by Majodina as “honourable Jibiri from Senegal”, later apologised — and told the SABC that he had been trying to kick a cellphone which was held by a male Zimbabwean MP who was filming him.
Majodina, who had earlier said she would be opening a case of assault against the Senegalese MP, accepted the apology.
“He was really apologetic and very sorry, and I told him this [would be] a serious case of gender-based violence in SA. You don’t beat up a woman. He has apologised and I have no qualms in accepting an apology, because this was a hot fight and it might happen that I was caught up in that crossfire,” said Majodina.
Explaining what had happened earlier, she said: “I was sitting on my chair. I had been calling for order, saying, ‘Let the house adjourn and call the AU [African Union] to come and intervene and conduct elections.’ As I was doing that I could see there was a scuffle down there. People were fighting physically.”
Majodina said she then saw Jibiri in a scuffle with another MP and approached them to make peace.
“I was trying to separate them. It was at that stage that I was attacked by Jibiri, who is the chair of the rules [committee], and he kicked me,” said Majodina.
Source: Times Live
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