ANC CONDEMNS LINKING OF THE SINGING OF THE STRUGGLE SONG BY MALEMA TO TERREBLANCHE KILLING

In the aftermath of the shocking killing of Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader Eugene TerreBlanche which the African National Congress (ANC) has strongly condemned, the ANC is concerned and worried about the continued utterances by some political parties - particularly the AWB, Freedom Front and AfriForum - who have linked the death to the singing by ANC Youth League President Julius Malema of the struggle song "Aye saba amagwala" (cowards are running) in some recent public gatherings.

Any claim that Blacks intend to harm other race groups - particular our white compatriots - is baseless and devoid of all truth. Let us not be dragged into polarisation only desired by a few.

In their preliminary investigations, police have not established any link between the killing of Mr TerreBlanche and the singing of the ANC struggle song. In fact, police have gone on record to state that the death arose out of a wage dispute between Mr TerreBlanche and his employees. It is our belief that the continued linkage of the singing of the song by Comrade Malema to the killing of Mr TerreBlanche, is not only mischievous but also inciteful and meant to fuel racial polarisation in our country during a highly emotion-charged and sensitive moment.

This repeated lie is also meant to cause harm in the person of Comrade Malema. It is our view that this concerted campaign against the ANCYL President waged by certain organisations in our society, including the Freedom Front, might lead to unintended consequences that South Africa cannot afford. The moment calls for all South Africans to unite, mourn the death and bury Mr TerreBlanche with the dignity and respect he deserves without name-calling or blame apportioning.

The ANC - once again - calls on all political parties and the South African society to leave the investigation to the police. Let us not add fuel to an already very sensitive atmosphere in the wake of Mr TerreBlanche's death by making unfounded and dangerous speculative statements. We request all South Africans, in particular political parties and civic formations to do whatever possible to build a united South Africa by reconciling all South Africans in this dark hour of our history.

The ANC on its part will do whatever necessary to contribute meaningfully to the earlier call made by President Jacob Zuma for calm - giving leadership at this time in our country to ensure that we are not going back to our painful past which we would like to keep buried. We will also do our best in all our formations to ensure that calm is observed prior to, during and after the funeral of Mr TerreBlanche. We all owe this to our country and appeal to all other political parties, civic, business and religious formations to do the same.

We are also confident in hosting a successful and racially free 2010 soccer world cup. We have confidence in our security forces in dealing with those that seek to derail the world cup. We do not see any linkage between our hosting of world cup and the death of Mr TerreBlanche.

Statement issued by Jackson Mthembu, African National Congress national spokesperson, April 2 2010

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter