‘I will lock up De Klerk if I become president’: Malema
By Simon Allison | Daily Maverick |
The last apartheid-era president‚ FW de Klerk‚ would be jailed if Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema was the leader of the country.
“De Klerk must pray that I don’t become president. If I do‚ I will lock him up for many years for killing black people‚” Malema told supporters outside a Bloemfontein court on Monday morning.
His case‚ on charges under the Riotous Assemblies Act‚ was postponed until June 5 next year while he challenges the constitutionality of the legislation.
Malema faced similar charges in the Newcastle Magistrate’s Court in KwaZulu-Natal last Monday‚ and comments he made after that appearance drew the ire of the FW de Klerk Foundation.
The foundation said it would request an urgent meeting with the South African Human Rights Commission to discuss Malema’s utterance: “They found peaceful Africans here. They killed them! They slaughtered them‚ like animals! We are not calling for the slaughter of white people‚ at least for now”.
Malema on Monday was unrepentant and said: “I did not call for the slaughter of white people. If I want to‚ I will. However‚ they slaughtered black people.”
He said that his “wish is to see De Klerk in jail‚ our brothers and sisters are in unidentified graves because of De Klerk”.
Malema told the gathering: “I’m not for reconciliation but for justice. I will never kill white people. We are asking politely that they return our land. If not‚ I cannot guarantee peace.”
