IFP leader disheartened by the state of the nation

He was reacting to the EFF being violently removed from the chamber - after they refused to be addressed by President Jacob Zuma.

Buthelezi - whose party members were seated next to the EFF - says he was told to move by members of the opposition, before things took a turn for the worse.

"[Mbuyiseni] Ndlozi is very close to me, a friend. He suggested to me to move away from where I was seated - because this is going to get rough, which told me they came here planning to do this thing. It really breaks my heart to see that this type of thing is getting worse, actually,"he said.

The veteran politician believes that the negative publicity surrounding last night's events have tarnished the image of the country in the eyes of the rest of the world.

"Because even from a point of view of the image of the country, and of us as a democracy - even if I were an investor form any country I wouldn't come here - I wouldn't be encouraged by scenes like that. I don't think it takes us forward," he said.

Buthelezi says he hopes that in the future - matters can be resolved amicably between opposition parties, and security personnel.

"I hope they realize that in a civil society, people can agree to disagree," he said.