#ZumaQandA: DA walks out of Parliament after verbal scuffle

president jacob zuma parliament rsa questions answers

South Africa may have expected a relatively smooth question and answer session between President Jacob Zuma and the rest of Parliament today, after the EFF’s absence from the House. But, nope.

The Q&A session, conducted Thursday afternoon, required the president to answer a number of questions posed by member of the House, including rising poverty, the appointment of a SAPS national commissioner, and climate change.

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But DA leader Mmusi Maimane had another question in mind.

Posing a query regarding payments received by the president, Maimane felt that the answer he received wasn’t quite satisfactory.

“I did not receive payments from private individuals or companies during my tenure as president,” Zuma stated.

An argument between Maimane, DA chief whip John Steenhuisen, and deputy Speaker of Parliament Lechesa Tsenoli, then ensued.

While Tsenoli confirmed that President Zuma did in fact answer the question, the DA members entirely disagreed. And so did much of social media.

#ZumaQandA began trending on Twitter across South Africa, dispelling doubts that the country was tiring of political chatter.

For those not wondering about payments, they turned to Twitter for advice on new Zumarisms.

But some viewers just couldn’t deal with the constant infighting in Parliament — which has now almost become a crude meme.

Political figures beyond the House also voiced their opinions on Twitter.

DA spokesperson Phumzile van Damme weighed in on the entire session.

While SAFTU’s Zwelinzima Vavi aired his views by employing a cartoon or two.

And although it was also absent from Parliament, chatter regarding the EFF was also common. And particularly creative.

The EFF today lead a march to the Israeli embassy in Pretoria’s CBD to highlight the plight of Palestinians.

Some thought that the DA did a swell job playing EFF for an hour or two.

The Q&A session concluded at 4.30pm Thursday.

Feature image: screenshot, ParliamentRSA/YouTube

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