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Mzwandile Masina walking with President Jacob Zuma — AFP

Johannesburg — The ANC Youth League distanced itself on Monday from a comment made by its national convenor Mzwandile Masina about two party stalwarts on photo-sharing site Instagram.
Masina uploaded a photo of former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils and former deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge with a caption criticising them for campaigning for spoilt votes.

The caption read: “The ANC gave these two people an opportunity to be known. They mess up. One hoe fired by Pres Mbeki and the other resign in protest after Pres a Mbeki was recalled. Now they miss television do much that they convening some lousy media conference to discourage pple from voting our movement. Pple died for freedom don’t be fooled by these two loosens [sic].”

The ANCYL warned its members and leaders to be careful of how they interact on social platforms, even in their personal capacity.
“As members of the ANC Youth League, we are forever respectful and do afford elders their space in society,” spokesperson Bandile Masuku said in a statement.

“We shall never allow anyone to degrade the ANC Youth League to the previous levels of disrespect and chaos.”
The youth league apologised to those who thought the comments were made on its behalf.

Kasrils and Madlala-Routledge have asked South Africans to take a stand against fraud and corruption by spoiling their votes.
The two are reported to be garnering support for the “Sidikiwe Vukani! Vote No” campaign, due to be launched at Wits University yesterday.

The aim of the campaign was to get struggle activists and others not to vote for the African National Congress, or at least spoil their vote, on May 7.

The photo remained on Masina’s Instagram page on Monday afternoon but the caption had been deleted.
He commented on the photo and apologised.

“My humble apologies I felt embarrassed as I read again after I got a call from one cadre who wanted to check what I wrote. I don’t insult pple when we differ hence correcting the words that suggested was saying something else “who” to that near horrible word…,” he wrote. Last year during a press briefing, Masina said National Union of Metalworkers of SA general secretary Irvin Jim must “f. . . off”.

He was criticising Jim’s stance on the Cosatu, SA Community Party and ANC alliance.
“Look, you see, our view is very clear. Irvin Jim must f. . . off if need be, as a person, because he can’t want to drag structures of the movement including Numsa in his nonsense,” Masina said at the time. — AP