The use of a sensitive issue such as gender-based violence for political point-scoring by members of parliament is shameful.

This is according to Future Kings – a mentorship initiative aimed at training teenage boys to responsible manhood – who were comment on allegations of women abuse that were thrown around between EFF and ANC MPs yesterday.

ANC MP Boy Mamabolo and EFF leader Julius Malema were yesterday embroiled in a public spat in full view of millions of South Africans which involved allegations of women abuse. Mamabolo accused Malema of abusing his wife Mantoa and in turn the EFF leader throw a curveball and placed the matter in the ANC benches by accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa of previously beating his late wife Nomazizi.

Future Kings’ volunteer-in-chief, Rams Mabote, said that these events which took place in parliament during the State of the Nations Address would go down in history as some of the “most shameful days in the history of parliamentary politics”.

“In what was supposed to be a debate of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address, South Africans were subjected to mudslinging match between adult men who trivialised and used women abuse and gender-based violence as a political weapon to shame each other,” Mabote said.

“Accusations and counter accusations by members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) respectively went flying about, with the name of the President and his late former wife being mentioned.”

He said it was despicable that members of parliament who are supposed to be lawmakers saw it fit to “abuse women with their loose tongues”.

“What the nation observed is completely vile, harmful and shameful. All these politicians guilty of these acts and those that were cheering them on, must apologise to every South African, but most importantly to all women especially those that at some point or another have fallen victim to women abuse and gender-based violence,” Mabote said.

Malema and his wife have given Mamabolo until close of business today to apologise, failing which he would face R1m lawsuits from each of them.The lawsuits come after Mamabolo repeated his allegations outside parliament - where he is protected by the immunities act – in an interview with the Sowetan.

The pair cited the newspaper articles in their lawyers letters.