Afrikaans white South Africans won’t be killed or pushed into the sea, according to former president Jacob Zuma.
Zuma led a charm offensive when he addressed the Afrikaners Leaders’ Forum in Pretoria, joined by Gauteng diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg.
He was asked whether, under uMkhonto weSizwe, he would give an order to kill white Afrikaners.
Zuma made it clear that South Africa has moved beyond that part of its history.
‘The point I want to make is that there has been history that we all went through. Not just between black and white, but black and black (people). In South Africa it was not just between black and white, it was between blacks as well. They still have problems’, he said.
Zuma said since the dawn of democracy, his main aim was to unite the country.
‘We developed, all of us, from the old days to today. We will always say, let us be together, let us unite. We are not going to kill anyone. Not at all. During the armed struggle there was an agreement, if you arrest you don’t kill. All liberation movement [sic] did not come back with impimpis. We came back with them. This indicates how we were looking at the future’.
He warned that socio-economic issues affecting the country ‘might lead to people saying let’s fight again. That is why I am saying let’s sit and talk and make our South Africa our country. I will never kill anyone.
‘We have passed that stage, we are at the stage where we can sit and talk and conclude our discussions and agreements. No one should fear me. I am a simple guy from Nkandla.’
[Photo: uMkhonto weSizwe party Facebook]