South Africa’s parliament erupted in violence last Thursday when opposition MPs were forced from the chamber by armed police after they challenged President Jacob Zuma over a corruption scandal. As parliamentarians threw punches, hats, leather cushions and desks, the live television signal to the chamber was cut and phone signals were jammed. Several MPs were taken to hospital with minor injuries, and remaining opposition parties walked out, leaving Mr Zuma to make a speech to ANC MPs alone. Twenty years after South Africa escaped apartheid and became a democracy, commentators said use of the security forces to address political rows was a concerning development. ‘This is now a police state,’ said Bantu Holomisa, an opposition leader. The protest was led by Julius Malema, once a staunch ally of the beleaguered president but now his strongest challenger over £12.9 million of taxpayer money spent on his private home in Nkandla, KwaZulu Natal