Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale says he did not appear before the ANC’s disciplinary committee to support Julius Malema, but to defend the principles that underpin the ANC constitution.
Addressing the Foreign Correspondents Association in Joburg on Wednesday night, Sexwale expressed disillusionment with the media for repeatedly claiming he had ruined his political future and any bid for the presidency by his “support” for Malema.
All headlines claiming that “Tokyo supports Malema” were misleading, he said, as he lamented the “poverty in newsrooms” caused by what he called the disastrous failure of media houses to train and keep experienced journalists.
Sexwale also urged all those aggrieved with the Protection of State Information Bill to let the Constitutional Court decide on its constitutionality.
“It’s not a betrayal to challenge the bill in the Constitutional Court. Let Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and his colleagues have the final say. As politicians we don’t have the final say,” said Sexwale.
He confirmed he had voted for the bill, despite his acknowledgement that its lack of a public interest defence was a valid concern.
“People have been saying, ‘Tokyo, you have destroyed all your chances of becoming president’,” he said, referring to his testimony to the disciplinary committee.
“I didn’t know so many people expect me to be president,” he said, to laughter from his audience.
“Perhaps I look like presidential material.”
He did not need to be president to serve the people. He could do so in any position, Sexwale said.
While refusing to give details of his evidence before the disciplinary committee, he said he strongly believed the ANC constitution had not been properly observed in the manner the disciplinary charges were brought against the ANC Youth League leaders. All he wanted to see was even-handedness in the ANC’s disciplinary processes.
If the ANC could forgive apartheid-era murderers, he did not see any reason why loudmouthed youths should not be forgiven.
He was annoyed by the “selective leaking” of his evidence by those wanting to expose him as a blind supporter of Malema and by claims that he did not understand the ANC constitution.
Those responsible for the leak could have done better, he said, by leaking the transcript of his entire evidence to enable people to contextualise what he had said.
He understood the party’s constitution well as he had been a long-time member of the ANC. It was his good grasp of the constitution that led him to appear for Malema at the hearing.
Asked whether he would stand against President Jacob Zuma or any other candidate if nominated by ANC branches, Sexwale said he would give careful thought and consideration to any such nomination and the motives for it.
“Things fall apart when principles founder,” he said, adding that his entire career had been underpinned by respect for principles.
He criticised media houses for “juniorising newsrooms” and for not investing in training.”We have reporters and not journalists in these newsrooms,” he said.
As a result, sensationalism and overreliance on unnamed “sources” were the order of day.
Sexwale also scoffed at claims that he had bankrolled Malema and offered a cash reward of R1 billion to anyone who could authenticate a media report that he had paid R5 million to liquidate Malema’s tax arrears.
Veteran journalist and former Johannesburg bureau chief for CNN, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, asked if Malema’s lavish lifestyle was not a bad influence on the youth. Sexwale said he did not know anything about Malema’s lifestyle other than what he read in the media.
“I have never been to his house.” - Independent Foreign Service