The EFF, Marike de Klerk and years of parliamentary chaos

During the first democratic Parliament, I shared a bench in the National Assembly with the late Danny Olifant.

Danny was from Atlantis.

He was a larger than life figure and called a spade a bloody shovel when required.  

From where we were sitting (close to the back door) we could see the seats in the gallery reserved for diplomats and guests of the president (Mandela) and deputy presidents (De Klerk and Mbeki).

At the time FW de Klerk was still married to the late Marike de Klerk.

On important occasions such as the opening of Parliament she would attend and take up her seat in the front row of the gallery, opposite from where De Klerk’s bench was.  

Together with the rest of the gallery she would stand for the anthem, or moment of silent prayer and meditation. 

However, frequently when President Mandela came in or made his way to the podium she would sit down. 

This was clearly intended as a sign of disrespect and was very obvious given that everyone else in the gallery would stand as a mark of respect for the President.  

One day, Danny Olifant, who had a booming voice, couldn’t take it anymore...