Tokyo: accept Juju's apology

Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale tore into fellow ANC leaders yesterday, accusing them of double standards in pressing for disciplinary action against youth league president Julius Malema.

He said the ANC had accepted the apologies of President Jacob Zuma and spokesman Jackson Mthembu when they had erred, but failed to do so for Malema.

The accusation was part of Sexwale's testimony at the embattled Malema's disciplinary hearing at the FNB Stadium in Nasrec, Johannesburg.

Sexwale told the hearing that Zuma apologised to the nation for having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman, whereas Mthembu did the same after he was arrested for driving drunk - and neither had faced an ANC disciplinary hearing.

Two sources close to the process said Sexwale wanted to know why the youth league was being treated differently despite its apology for a controversial statement about Botswana.

Malema and his top officials face a charge for calling for the removal of Botswana's "puppet" government, among others.

"Tokyo asked why the league's apology was not accepted," said the insider.

Sexwale is the only witness who testified yesterday; others will do so on October 26 when the hearing resumes, and closing arguments will be heard on November 3.

Speculation in ANC structures is that Malema will not be expelled because it could further polarise the organisation. It is expected that he will be either suspended or given a final warning.

But those close to Zuma feel that giving Malema another lifeline would spell doom for the president because the youth leader has made known his resentment towards him.

Other witnesses, including ANC stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and national executive committee member Tony Yengeni, will take the stand during the next round.

Madikizela-Mandela's testimony was expected to delve into the history of the youth league and the challenges that her generation faced.

The disciplinary hearing resumed yesterday after a two-week delay caused by witnesses being unavailable and Malema's brief illness, for which he was admitted to the Polokwane Medi-Clinic with "flu-like" symptoms.

But he came back all fired up this week after his discharge. On Friday he defiantly addressed an "economic freedom lecture" at the University of the Witwatersrand against the wishes of the institution's management.

He attacked his detractors and warned against "sell-out" revolutionaries, and singled out the South African Communist Party for ridicule.