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South African riot police clashed with opposition MPs hours after parliament absolved President Jacob Zuma over the use of some $23m (�14m) of state money to upgrade his private home in Nkandla. They intervened after opposition MP Ngwanamakwetle Mashabela repeatedly called Mr Zuma a thief. Four MPs were reportedly injured in the scuffle during the late-night session. In March, the country's corruption investigator said Mr Zuma had "unduly benefited" from the improvements. Public Protector Thuli Madonsela also accused him of unethical conduct and recommended he repay costs for some of the unnecessary renovations of his rural home in Nkandla, KwaZulu Natal province. But a parliamentary committee report - passed by a majority of African National Congress (ANC) MPs on Thursday - absolved Mr Zuma of any wrongdoing. Ms Mashabela, a member of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, made her comments in one of the debates that followed. "President Zuma is a thief. He is a criminal. He is the greatest thief in the world," she said. When she refused to withdraw the statement and refused to be removed from the chamber by an official, the riot police intervened. By this stage the parliamentary TV feed was cut. Scuffles broke out between officers on the one side and MPs from the opposition Democratic Alliance and the EFF on the other.