Being Nelson Mandela’s assistant is going to buy you some street cred, of that there is no doubt. It will not, however, save you from the inevitable backlash that follows a series of racially-charged tweets.

Zelda la Grange, or Zeldina as Madiba used to call her, sent out her tweets Friday night after arriving back in the country from a week overseas. The juiciest tweets are shown below, taken from Zelda’s Twitter account.

Now she has taken to Twitter issuing a 14-part apology, as well as releasing a statement to the media. Excerpts below from CityPress:

I am a proud South African Afrikaner wanting to build the future of our country. I cannot speak on anyone’s behalf, but I can tell you how I feel.

We are all frustrated and angry about the state of affairs for different reasons. But that frustration is not limited to race or culture…

On any day our democracy is better than apartheid. But it does not mean we should not be critical of our state of affairs.

I am always amazed when prominent public figures with huge Twitter followings go off on one. Surely there’s someone who can have a quick word of advice in the ear. Anyway, the backtracking the next day is always funny to watch so maybe we shouldn’t complain too much.

[source:citypress]