ANC delays charging Steve Hofmeyr - but warns he's not off the hook

The ANC has changed its plans to charge controversial Afrikaans singer Steve Hofmeyr  barely 15 hours after announcing it would open a case of crimen injuria against him.

After issuing a statement on Wednesday night saying it would open the case on Thursday in Cape Town, the ANC on Thursday said it had postponed the move for next Monday in Johannesburg.

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ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said the party had decided it would make more sense to lay the charge in Johannesburg, where the ANC head office is located, for purposes of monitoring the case's progress.

Hofmeyr landed himself in hot water after a controversial Tweet he posted on Wednesday addressed to SA's ambassador to Denmark, Zindzi Mandela, and DA MP Phumzile van Damme threatening them that "when you come to take our lives and land, you will die".

Hofmeyr sent the Tweet after Mandela had sparked a social media frenzy following her#OurLand tweets, while Van Damme on Tuesday tweeted about punching a white man in an apparent racial confrontation at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

Mabe said Hofmeyr must not think he has gotten away with it as the ANC will be now opening the case in Joburg on Monday.

"Opening the case in Joburg will also allow us to monitor and regularly follow up on progress. Our own structures such as the women's league (ANCWL) have conveyed their support of the move to open a case of crimen injuria against Hofmeyr and as such it is important for us that a case such as this, once opened, be followed up to its logical conclusion," Mabe told TimesLIVE.