A clash between parliamentarians during the plenary session of the African Union (AU) Pan-African Parliament on Monday has been condemned by Twitter users on Tuesday.
The members of the parliament had assembled for the swearing-in of new members and the Bureau election of its sixth parliament in South Africa, but a man and a woman were captured fighting while others tried to separate them.
THE WHISTLER could not immediately verify the countries the two parliamentarians represented.
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The parliament is the legislative body of the AU and South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported that there was disagreement among members as to how the next Pan African parliament president should be elected, among other things.
Reacting to the development, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, described what played out at the plenary as a dishonorable scene, adding that stakeholders should conduct themselves properly.
“The shocking scenes of violence at the #PanAfricanParliament today tarnish the image of this honourable institution. I appeal to all parliamentarians to recover their composure and comply with the rules and procedures of the institution,” he tweeted.
But twitter users, while reacting to Mahamat’s tweet on Tuesday, claimed that what happened at the parliament was proof of leadership failure across the continent.
Below are their reactions: