THE Eastern Cape branch of Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is calling on embattled ANC Youth League president Julius Malema to publicly apologise for calling the MDC a “Mickey Mouse” party after his return from Zimbabwe.

MDC provincial chairman Roderick Chimombe said yesterday Malema’s outbursts were “insulting and undiplomatic. We are calling on him to publicly apologise for calling the MDC (a) Mickey Mouse (party).”

Malema made the remarks after his return to South Africa from Zimbabwe, where he was invited by Zanu PF youth recently.

Chimombe said Malema’s visit to Zimbabwe was “very questionable” and they wanted the ANC national executive committee to “clearly define” its standing on the matter.

He said the utterances left their hearts bleeding. “This reminds us of former president Thabo Mbeki’s era of quiet diplomacy.”

“We are calling for the people of Zimbabwe to have faith in the mediation of Zuma, with regard to the political impasse there in Zimbabwe.”

President Jacob Zuma called a rare media conference in Durban on Saturday to address the controversies involving Malema, including his intervention in the Zimbabwe talks, his comments on the murder of AWB leader Eugene Terre’Blanche, his verbal abuse of BBC journalist Jonah Fisher and his defiance of the ANC leadership’s instruction to stop singing the “Shoot the Boer” song.

Zuma said Malema’s defiance of the High Court ban on the phrase “dubul’ ibhulu” amounted to “undermining the leadership of the ANC and that cannot be accepted”.

Malema, however, remained defiant after Zuma rebuked him. WeekendPost

Speaking at the ANCYL conference in Limpopo on Sunday, Malema said he would not take any personal responsibility for his remarks made on Zimbabwe.

By The Zimbabwe Mail