Last month, EWN senior journalists Barry Bateman said out loud what a large majority of South Africans really think about Julius Malema.

Yes, a large majority, because Malema’s EFF secured less than 11% of the national vote earlier this year, and unless you’re one of those ‘head in the sand’ EFF supporters, you can see through his nonsense.

Bateman’s timing couldn’t have been better for the EFF, with another damning exposé of how Malema used the VBS Bank money to fund his lavish lifestyle having come out days earlier.

Now, as the EFF’s Floyd Shivambu is also under the cosh, having bled that same resource dry to the tune of R5,2 million, Bateman has issued a public apology for his comments.

Just to rehash things, here’s what he’s saying sorry for:

Farcical.

Anyway, via Bateman’s Twitter account, here’s the apology:

In case you missed it, Bateman has been docked a month’s pay and given a “final written warning”.

Rather predictably, in a desperate attempt to once again deflect attention from his plundering of what was once people’s life savings, Floyd Shivambu has not accepted Bateman’s apology.

Here’s the Citizen:

“This is not genuine. They want to reinstate him because he’s of the most loyal racist members of STRATCOM. He can’t even hide his deep hatred of black leaders who confront white supremacy with determination,” Shivambu alleged.

“Stratcom” refers to a secret apartheid-era dirty tricks and misinformation unit, but has since become used by the EFF and others as a catch-all term for any journalist who they believe serves white interests.

That last line is being kind, because ‘Stratcom’ really has become the war cry of those caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Meanwhile, Malema will face hate speech charges laid by the South African Human Rights Commission, related to this tweet.

Here’s a freeze-frame:

It remains to be seen whether Malema will be forced to issue an apology, or have a month’s worth of pay (VBS money aside) docked.

[source:citizen]