United Democratic Movement Chief Whip Tommy Abrahams' attempt at blue humour in the National Assembly backfired on Wednesday with embarrassed colleagues expected to raise the matter in the party's caucus on Thursday.
In an apparent attempt to lighten the mood during debate on whether government would make anti-retroviral drugs available to rape survivors, Abrahams posed a supplementary question to Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
Referring to a television report about three Japanese men who had towed a truck with their penises, he asked the minister whether she did not think that South African men could find other uses for theirs.
A few MPs giggled and others maintained a stony silence. Tshabalala-Msimang did not bother to reply.
A sheepish Abrahams returned to his seat, not sure whether he had gaffed.
UDM MPs are apparently mortified and want Abrahams chastised during Thursday's caucus meeting, a reporter was told. - Sapa