Brawl breaks out in South African parliament after black MP calls white colleague racist

Tensions run high after report implicates politicians in bank theft

A brawl has broken out in South Africa‘s parliament during a question-and-answer session with President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Tensions had been mounting after the publication of a report, titled “The Great Bank Heist”, that said $130m (£100m) had been stolen from local bank VBS Mutual.

Politicians were among the 53 individuals and businesses the report implicated in the theft, which led to the bank’s collapse.

A row started in the parliament when chief whip of the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), John Steenhuisen, accused members of the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) of being “VBS looters”.

EFF leader Julias Malema responded by calling Steenhuisen a “racist young white man”. EFF members then chanted “racist”.

Andries Tlouamma of the Agang party then said: “We cannot allow in this House for someone to say a white can’t speak in this House”.

A fracas then broke out, with Nazier Paulsen throwing a bottle at Mr Tlouamma, then running towards him.

House chairperson Thoko Didiza called security and suspended proceedings for a period until order was restored.