Motshekga cries sexism

ANC Chief Whip Mathole Motshekga has accused COPE president Mosiuoa Lekota of undermining the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Nomanindiya Mfeketo - because she's a woman.

Motshekga painted MPs from other opposition parties with the same brush.

He said Lekota was treating parliament like a "kangaroo court" that he expected to always rule in his favour.

Motshekga, flanked by senior MPs John Jeffrey and Mike Masutha, also fired a broadside at DA Chief Whip Watty Watson.

He accused Watson of not understanding procedural rules in the National Assembly.

Speaking at a press conference in parliament yesterday, Motshekga blamed the two opposition parties for the "degeneration of a culture of discipline in parliament".

He was reacting to Mfeketo's dramatic ejection of Lekota from the chamber on Tuesday.

The COPE leader rejected her ruling that he should withdraw his assertion that President Jacob Zuma was violating his oath of office by defying a court order to hand over to the DA the "spy tapes" used to get Zuma off the hook on corruption charges.

Chaos erupted in the National Assembly when Mfeketo ordered that Lekota be escorted out of the chamber.

Lekota was followed by several other COPE MPs in an expression of support.

DA MPs banged their parliamentary benches and heckled Motshekga when he read a notice of motion calling for Lekota to be censured.

Motshekga said the ANC had taken note of the tendency of opposition MPs not to respect the authority of female presiding officers.

"Female presiding officers are being discriminated [against], harassed by virtue of their sex," he said. " It's a violation of the fundamental principle of the constitution, the principle of non-sexism . "

The ANC chief whip said Lekota knew the rules of parliament better than most other MPs.

"He is turning [parliament] into a kangaroo court . he only accepts his own interpretation of the rules and I am not sure he has a monopoly on wisdom."

Motshekga said Watson and his DA colleagues knew the rules of parliament but could not interpret them.

"Some people know the rules but attach wrong interpretations to them . [he is] wanting in that regard," Motshekga said.

Lekota could not be reached for comment. Watson has dismissed Motshekga's criticism as the act of a desperate man whose job was on the line.