Photo: African News Agency (ANA)
Photo: African News Agency (ANA)
It has kicked off big time in Parliament, for the second time in five days. Boy Mamabolo has gone back for a second bite of the cherry, reiterating his claims that Julius Malema is abusing his wife. The jaw-dropping exchange sparked scenes of chaos during the SONA Debate, as arguments and points of order flew across the room.
Boy Mamabelo vs the EFF leader – round two:
This is what Mamabolo fired towards Malema on Thursday:
“We can’t be abused by Julius Malema like he abuses Mantwa at home. Rena re dithaka let’s go outside and leave the elders here. […] Let’s go and engage outside, Baba.”
Boy Mamabolo
And, as Julius Malema issued his rebuttal to the president’s speech from last week, the ANC MP went back in during the SONA Debate:
“Gender-based violence is happening at your house…you are abusing your wife…members of the EFF know about it. Can you confirm to us… are you abusing your wife?”
Boy Mamabolo
SONA Debate: Watch Julius Malema face a shock question here
#SONAdebate | ANC MP Boy Mamabolo stands on a point of order and accuses Malema of abusing his wife pic.twitter.com/CkESKCbbGf
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) February 18, 2020
Juju reacts to ‘wife beater’ slurs at SONA Debate
Interestingly enough, the question did not stoke the fires within Julius Malema straight away, as many would have expected. He chose to ignore the accusations, rather than address them upfront. As more petty squabbles broke out across Parliament, Juju revelled in the chaos, purring that he was “running the house”. Almost an hour after dodging the question, Malema dropped a bombshell of his own…
“I’ve never, not once, laid a hand on my wife. I have been told the president used to beat his late wife. I raise this issue that you cannot fight gender-based violence with this history. He is the wrong person.”
Julius Malema
Malema continued to assert that he was “running the house”, joking that he wanted to be on the podium for another hour while the SONA Debate ran. When he did get to read his speech in the middle of several interruptions, Malema gunned for Ramaphosa:
“There is hardly any evidence that you are different from your predecessor. You are refusing transparency and accountability. You protect incompetence and corruption in your ranks and have already mislead parliament under oath. The logical framework of your entire speech rested on a neoliberal development.
“It is therefore impossible to see how the solution to poison can be to drink more poison. To ask us to place our hopes on a white owned, controlled and dominated private sector is abdication of the revolutionary duty espoused not just by the NDR and the Freedom Charter, but also by the hopes of our people over centuries.”
Julius Malema on the SONA Debate
Who is Julius Malema’s wife?
Mantwa Malema lives a very private and quiet life – a remarkable achievement given the notoriety of her husband. She has a background in business and runs her own company. She also seems to run a tight ship at home, and is credited for inspiring Juju’s weight loss and alcohol avoidance.
The accusations levelled by Boy Mamabolo paint a different picture to what we see on the Malemas’ social media channels, too. Half of Julius’ Instagram posts are dedicated to his spouse. It’s important to stress that the allegations raised on Tuesday have not been officially verified.
