Brawl breaks out as Zuma addresses South African parliament

South African MPs traded blows with security guards in the parliament building as President Jacob Zuma delivered his state of the nation address.

Dressed in red suits and berets, the radical socialist Economic Freedom Fighters' party (EFF), which holds 25 of the 400 seats in the National Assembly, heckled the president and interrupted the speech twice on points of order.

Party leader Julius Malema led the attack on Zuma, whose presidency has been dogged by personal scandals and accusations of graft and corruption.

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"Sitting in front of us is an incorrigible man, rotten to the core," Malema said, reports South African news service Times Live. "He must address the nation from prison."

He then called Speaker Baleka Mbete "irrational" and "impatient" when she asked him to leave the chamber.

Security officers were ordered to eject the protesters, resulting in a vicious scuffle on the chamber floor while "screams of 'f*** you" rang out from ANC benches", says Times Live.

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Main opposition party Democratic Alliance walked out in protest, saying South Africa had become a "police state", says IOL.

Zuma, who had been "quiet and expressionless throughout the entire debacle", finally resumed his address after an hour of delay, SABC reports.

Malema was unapologetic. "We are prepared to leave this parliament in a coffin," he said. "We won't be intimidated by soldiers and police who are protecting that constitutional delinquent."

EFF, which follows a Marxist-Leninist ideology, was only founded four years ago, but already has more than half a million members.

It took 6.35 per cent of the vote in the 2014 election to become South Africa's third largest party.