13th November 2011

Still hot.....

Malema's olive branch to Indians

Suspended ANC Youth League president Julius Malema has offered an olive branch to Indians, saying he was prepared to apologise again for using a derogatory term to describe the community.

This follows a complaint by Lenasia resident Basheer Lorgat made against Malema to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
Malema was this week suspended for five years by the ANC for bringing the party into disrepute.
Last month, he used the term - "amaKula", a derogatory word to describe Indians - when he addressed a gathering at Thembelihle in Lenasia. He later apologised for the racial slur, adding that he had not realised it was offensive.
Malema told the Sunday Times Extra on Friday that his statement was "never intended to cause any harm". He said a statement he made that "black children should go to school with Indian children" was meant to be reconciliatory. "I can go and stand in Lenasia and apologise again, there is no problem. I can apologise anywhere they want me to apologise, there is no problem. I was not insulting anybody," he said.