[imagesource: Twitter / @MtwanaXabiso]

One day of functioning like a normal democracy. That is all we ask.

Happy April Fools’ Day, although to our politicians every waking moment is an opportunity to act like a clown.

The latest example features former Ekurhuleni mayor and ANC member Mzwandile Masina being hauled out of council chambers yesterday.

He has since stated that he will lay charges against Ekurhuleni speaker Raymond Dlamini and mayor Tania Campbell, both of whom are DA members.

TimesLIVE reports:

“I was badly beaten and am still ashamed that as an elected party representative, I could be manhandled that way. There was no fight. We just differed about the issues. They opted to use an iron first and humiliate us,” Masina said…

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika several hours later, Masina said he was thrown out of council for asking valid questions of the mayor following her delivery of the state of the city address…

He said the DA-led council was incompetent when it came to dealing with substantive issues, adding that they were “resorting to violence and I have become a target”.

In response, speaker Dlamini said Masina was removed after continually disrupting proceedings and then ignoring requests to leave the chambers.

Because it’s not about governance, it’s about creating a scene and then using that to further entrench party battle lines.

Here’s Masina being hauled out:

Opposition leader Mzwandile Masina was removed from council.#BreakingNews #Ekurhuleni pic.twitter.com/o9BUZN8O91

— Ekurhuleni News (@ekurhuleninews2) March 31, 2022

Given the sheer volume of phones filming, there are multiple angles:

@Julius_S_Malema @54Battalion @EkurhuleniE @EFFSouthAfrica @mzwandileMasina ANC’s chair Masina is removed from chamber for disrupting the council currently pic.twitter.com/0BH3Y1XUUE

— Dumisani David (@DumisaniBujwa) March 31, 2022

A solid head of steam built up here as they accelerate towards the exit, with Ekurhuleni metro police department (EMPD) members and private security officials working together:

pic.twitter.com/As1cV0GNp0

— Xabiso Mtwana 🇷🇺🇿🇦 (@MtwanaXabiso) March 31, 2022

There’s also some moaning outside of chambers in that second video.

To really stick the knife in, Dlamini said the ANC was “bitter and had not adjusted to being the opposition”.

They better get used to it. More than two decades of criminal mismanagement are finally catching up with them at the polls.

[source:timeslive]