- Members of the Malian delegation say they are afraid of Malema's unpredictable behaviour.
- The ANC chief whip has defended Malema, saying the threat has been blown out of proportion.
- Southern African delegates are calling for the reform of the PAP presidency.
The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) will vote for a new president on Monday, with a threat from South African opposition politician Julius Malema hanging over the session.
The PAP resumes after an emergency adjournment on Thursday after a staff member tested positive for Covid-19.
The chamber became heated when the Economic Freedom Fighters leader threatened a fellow member of parliament from Mali.
In video footage of the incident, Malema is heard saying, "I'll kill you outside", pointing at Ali Koné, who is inaudible.
"Many of the MPs, not only Mali, are afraid now because we are here in South Africa," said Aboubacar Sidiki Koné, a member of the Malian delegation. He said delegates were anxious for much of the weekend, receiving no direction from the PAP.
"The MPs were in the chamber and they switched off the light. Policemen came to the chamber with guns and told us MPs, 'go away, go away!' We were very surprised, we were shocked," Aboubacar Koné said of Thursday's session.
Koné is the campaign manager for Haidara Aichata Cisse, a Malian politician who is also running for the PAP presidency.
"With Malema, we never know, but I think he is a very dangerous guy for all MPs here," said Koné, who has lived in South Africa since 2017. Koné added that he has never been the victim of xenophobia.
Koné believed last week's adjournment was a delay tactic by the southern Africa delegation to prolong Zimbabwe's role as acting president.
While Koné said Cisse was considering additional security, the PAP secretariat said there was no need.
"As the secretariat, we've taken all the measures ahead to ensure the session resumes," said PAP spokesperson Jeffrey Onganga.
'Out of proportion'
"The scene of Mr Malema and the Mali delegate was blown out of proportion," said Pemmy Majodina, ANC chief whip in Parliament and a member of the PAP.
"The videos only show where Mr Malema was reacting," she told News24.
"He was [acting] in self-defence because there was something that was said to him."
The EFF did not respond to a request for comment.
In this parliament, the ANC and EFF were backing a single candidate in a hotly contested race for the presidency. Majodina said each of the five regions had led the bureau, except southern Africa.
The PAP president is the most powerful position in the bureau, the executive body of the PAP. It is made up of an elected president and four vice-presidents from each region.
Members of the region were backing Chief Fortune Charumbira from Zimbabwe. Charumbira has served as acting president since 1 March after former PAP president Bouras Djamel was recalled to Algeria after internal politics in the north African country saw parliament being dissolved.
Charumbira did not respond to a request for comment on the Malian delegation's accusations.
Southern African delegates have also called for a rotational presidency. Currently, the presidential candidate with the most votes wins the presidency. The vice-presidents are ranked first to fourth based on the number of votes received. A rotational system would do away with this ranking.
This call for reform was the basis of last week's heated exchanges, even before the altercation between Malema and Koné.
As the PAP prepares to vote for a new bureau against this backdrop, the session could see fireworks once again.
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