I had to act to restore order in the House: Frolick

National assembly chairman and ANC MP Cedric Frolick, on whose watch the fracas in house last week took place, said he was taken by surprise when the police entered parliament.

Late last Thursday, Frolick ordered sergeant-at-arms Regina Mohlomi to remove Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Reneiloe Mashabela from the podium and the debating chamber after she repeatedly shouted: "Zuma is a thief. Zuma is a criminal. He is the biggest thief in the world."

Later, a clearly shaken Frolick said everything had happened very quickly.

"What happened, happened very fast but was the culmination of a whole run-up of events.

"The EFF member was refusing to obey the chair and leave the podium.

"It was different from when honorable [DA deputy chief whip] Mike Waters refused to leave the house after being ordered to do so by the Speaker. He was in his bench.

"Having an MP at the podium was different because everything in the house was at a standstill.

"She refused to leave the podium. It was not adult behaviour. One has to be reasonable, but where was the reasonableness?

"I asked the sergeant-at-arms to remove the member [Mahalela]. The first I saw of the police was when a few police officers were standing on the floor of the house," he said.

Frolick said he did not want to enter the debate on whether it was appropriate for the police to be in the national assembly.

Asked what went through his mind as he sat in the speaker's chair during the mayhem, Frolick said he wondered whether South Africans "had really queued on polling day for this [shouting match] to happen".

"I do believe the rules of the house must be followed and enforced," he said.

More trouble is expected in parliament today if the recommendation that 20 EFF MPs be suspended without pay is debated.

The EFF is expected to ask the Cape High Court for an interdict against the debate this morning, citing procedural grounds.

The national assembly is scheduled to meet at 10am.