ANCYL president Julius Malema's call for economic freedom is the single most important since former president Nelson Mandela's call to arms 50 years ago, columnist Eric Miyeni said on Talk Radio 702 on Tuesday.
Miyeni called the radio station to talk to Malema during an hour-long broadcast during which listeners were given the opportunity to ask him questions.
“Please carry on, we can't have this poverty,” Miyeni told Malema.
The ANCYL came out in support of Miyeni after the Sowetan newspaper discontinued his column because of comments he made about City Press editor Ferial Haffajee.
In a column titled “Haffajee does it for white masters”, Miyeni wrote that in the 1980s Haffajee would probably have had a burning tyre around her neck.
“Who the devil is she anyway if not a black snake in the grass, deployed by white capital to sow discord among blacks?” he asked.
Haffajee said she took the comments seriously and planned to sue Miyeni.
Malema told radio listeners that he liked Miyeni's courage.
“We need more Erics in this country,” he said.
Malema said Miyeni had criticised the ANCYL a number of times in his column and it had never called for him to be fired.
On Tuesday, the ANCYL said it had asked to meet with representatives of publishing house Avusa and the Sowetan newspaper to demand an explanation for the firing of Miyeni.
“The ANCYL will soon seek a meeting with those who terminated the column to get an explanation on their application of principles, because they are simply out of line and abominable,” spokesman Floyd Shivambu said in a statement.
“Right now I am being crucified for telling the truth. Justice will prevail,” Miyeni wrote on the social networking site Twitter on Tuesday.
The previous day, he wrote: “I'm not the editor of the Sowetan, nor do I decide what gets published and what doesn't.”
“I will not by any means apologise for speaking the truth and expressing my right to freedom of expression,” he wrote later.
“At some point in life, one person has to stand up to this chaos! I don't hate Ferial, but the truth must spoken! (sic)” – Sapa