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Oros sorry for ‘take up arms for Zuma’ comments

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APOLOGETIC ANC Youth League president Collen Maine. Picture: Cornel van Heerden
APOLOGETIC ANC Youth League president Collen Maine. Picture: Cornel van Heerden

“I would like to say that I am unconditionally apologetic.”

This is what ANC Youth League president Collen Maine told City Press yesterday after the backlash he suffered from the ANC and political parties over his call for military veterans to take up arms for President Jacob Zuma.

Maine, who is known as “Oros” in political circles, made the comments at a pro-Zuma march through the Durban CBD on Saturday.

“Comrades from Umkhonto weSizwe, bring your guns. Now is the time to defend the revolution,” Maine had said.

He tore into Zuma’s detractors, calling them “snakes who surrounded” the president “trying to bring him down.

“You comrades must be strong. You must know the ANC Youth League will not allow anybody to take out Jacob Zuma,” he said.

But today he said it was in the “spur of the moment” that he made those comments.

“We have come a long way as a country, I call for peace in the country and I would like to recall what I said on Saturday,” he told City Press.

Yesterday both the Congress of the People and the DA Youth called on the South African Police Service and the National Prosecuting Authority to charge Maine with incitement of violence, saying that his comments were dangerous.

The DA’s student organisation leader Yusuf Cassim said that the charges would be laid against him for inciting violence.

“Maine’s statements are in direct contravention with the Constitution, which states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which ... does not extend to propaganda for war; incitement of imminent violence; or advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm.”

The ANC called the comments “unfortunate, irresponsible and reckless”.

The ANC said that the freedom which was enjoyed in South Africa today came at a price.

“Among those freedoms is the right to freedom of expression, which does not extend to inflammatory remarks such as those made by the youth league president and should never be allowed to find a space in our democratic society.”

Cassim told City Press that the DA youth were currently in talks with their lawyers and the charges should be instituted this week.

Maine said that he was yet to be approached by the police and he hoped that after retracting his statement that charges would not be laid against him.

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