The joint rules sub-committee meeting in Parliament took a strange turn on Thursday when Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Sam Matiase likened the deadlock to lobola negotiations.

The sub-committee was discussing the addition of a rule to physically remove MPs from the House during joint sittings if they disobeyed a direct order to leave by a presiding officer.

The rule was passed in the National Assembly in July and the committee was discussing adapting it for joint sittings. The parties in attendance, the African National Congress (ANC) and EFF, could not reach an agreement.

Matiase said the ANC was reducing the committee to the level of lobola negotiations.

"There is no bride and groom here. But the direction that the ruling party is taking really borders on lobola negotiations."

Lobola negotiations are when two families decide on how much will have to be paid for the groom to marry the bride.

Matiase also accused the ANC and the official opposition, the Democratic Alliance, of being joined at the hip.

"They are joined in an unholy matrimony. We have gotten to a point where we are done being nice to the ANC."

ANC MP Connie September joked and asked which hip the two parties were joined at, the left or right.

After the sub-committee spent 30 minutes discussing the rules, their wording, and the meaning of reasonably necessary violence, ANC MP and committee chairperson Richard Mdakane closed the matter, saying the decision would now be left up to the full joint rules committee.

News24.com