President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday dealt with allegations by the EFF that he physically abused his ex-wife, saying this level of politicking was an insult to the real struggle to stop the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) in South
Africa.
“The weaponisation of GBV is an insult to the millions of women who are victims of this national crisis,” he said in response to the debate on his state of the nation address, where EFF leader Julius Malema accused him of beating his late former wife Nomazizi Mtshotshisa.
Malema dropped the bombshell in the National Assembly on Tuesday after ANC MP Boy Mamabolo had accused him of abusing his own wife, Manto.
APOLOGY: EFF leader Julius Malema
After dealing with Eskom, health and other issues, the president returned to the subject, berating Mamabolo and apologised to Malema and his wife.
Ramaphosa opened his reply to the debate by saying it was clear that apartheid was a crime against humanity even before the United Nations declared it such in 1973.
He said in his view it was treasonous to deny that apartheid was a crime against humanity, thereby publicly repudiating former president FW de Klerk.
“They knew as they looked at this country that this was a country where a grave crime was being committed against the majority of the people against South Africa,” the president said.
Ramaphosa added that there was not a single South African alive who was not touched by apartheid: “I would go as far as to say to deny this is treasonous.”
Fury erupted after De Klerk compared apartheid to genocide and said he did not think it fell into the same category.
“Genocide is a crime,” De Klerk said, who on Monday issued an apology for his statement.