JOHANNESBURG - Body language expert Paul du Toit says President Cyril Ramaphosa appeared fairly cautious, relaxed and composed during a tense question-and-answer session in Parliament amid growing pressure over the Phala Phala scandal.
Proceedings turned chaotic after opposition parties demanded that Ramaphosa address the matter before taking questions.
But when Speaker of Parliament Thoko Didiza did not give in to their demands, the EFF, MK Party and ATM walked out of proceedings.
They said they would not be addressed by the President while he still had questions to answer over Phala Phala.
READ | MK Party and EFF MPs protest out of National Assembly
Du Toit said Ramaphosa’s experience and years in office have sharpened his ability to handle difficult moments without showing much emotion, especially when he watched opposition MPs leave the chamber.
“He's a seasoned campaigner and one of his methods of dealing with difficult situations is to keep a fairly slow delivery, which gives him the advantage of being able to think on his feet while situations are happening. But I would imagine that from what I could see, he was pretty relieved,” he said.
Du Toit said Ramaphosa often makes use of gestures when he speaks, and this was evident during the oral reply session.
Those gestures, however, became minimal when he felt challenged by a question.
According to Du Toit, this was clear when Ramaphosa was asked about the firing of Sisisi Tolashe as Minister of Social Development.
“You could see that the gesture stopped. He grasped the lectern again and there was very little movement, and he became a lot more serious.
"So, what he's feeling and what he's thinking is given away to a large extent, but he's pretty good at masking it.”
But overall, Du Toit said Ramaphosa was able to ease into the session.
"He started off almost like an old diesel vehicle that had been parked in the garage for a week, and the battery needed to warm up a little bit.
"So, he is not a high-energy speaker. He was very quiet or slow and deliberate at the beginning and only really warmed up once the third question."