African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament, Boy Mamabolo, has apologised to Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and his wife Mantwa Matlala-Malema for the remarks he made about them in Parliament earlier this week.

Mamabolo has described as insensitive his remarks that Malema abused his wife. Malema in turn alleged that President Cyril Ramaphosa was abusing his late wife, Nomazizi Mtshotshisa.

Replying to the debate of State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament on Thursday, Ramaphosa apologised to Malema and his wife and said Gender-based violence (GBV) should not be used to settle political scores.

“The weaponisation of GBV is an insult to the millions of women who are victims of this national crisis. We had served to politicise and in a way also to trivialise the national crisis of GBV. We should apologise to South Africans for the manner in which this matter was debated,” says Ramaphosa.

Watch: MPs interrupt EFF’s Julius Malema at SONA debate

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities in the Presidency, Professor Hlengiwe Mkhize, says President Ramaphosa provided leadership and became the bigger person by apologising to Malema for the Gender-based violence allegations that Mamabolo levelled against him.

“The President really provided leadership on the matter as he said, ‘Re beye marumo fatshe’, calm down. He really calmed the storm. I felt it even within the house that there was that relief, a feeling of relief so that was highly appreciated,” says Mkhize.

Watch: President Cyril Ramaphosa apologises to EFF’s Julius Malema