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Oil Mthembu defends Malema while facing drunk driving charge
March 12, 2010 Edition 1
ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu was arrested for alleged drunk driving in Cape Town yesterday - but this did not stop him from doing his job.
In a 21-minute telephonic interview with Sapa, apparently while in police custody, Mthembu passionately defended ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema before bursting into song.
"Don't blame Julius. In fact, on this one, I will defend him," said Mthembu, speaking on the criminal complaint against Malema for singing: "Kill the boers, they are rapists."
"You must blame the ANC; don't blame Julius. But when you blame the ANC, then contextualise it," said Mthembu, before he started singing the "Kill the boers" song to Sapa over the phone.
He was arrested on the N2 near the Pinelands off-ramp at 7.50am and was released from the Mowbray police station after 2pm with a warning to appear in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court on March 24.
"It is a strange time of day to be under the influence... They had to hold him to allow him to sober up," said JP Smith, Cape Town's mayoral committee member for safety and security.
Sapa phoned him at 9.22am for comment on the Malema story and a 21-minute interview followed.
When called back at 11.23am to ask whether he had been arrested for drunk driving, Mthembu again answered his phone, but this time the call lasted only 40 seconds. He replied: "I can't comment."
Smith said normally a person arrested for drunk driving would not have access to his or her cellphone, but added that he was not worried by this because Mthembu had co-operated with police at all times.
He said members of the so-called ghost squad, the city's special unmarked traffic unit, had arrested Mthembu for driving in the bus lane.
There had been a strong smell of alcohol.
"He was tested for alcohol and was found to be more than three times over the legal limit. He tested 0.87 while the legal limit is 0.24 1/8milligrams of alcohol per 1000 millilitres of breath 3/8," Smith said.
The ID has called on the ANC to release a statement about Mthembu's arrest.
"Coming so soon after the news that Mthembu apparently sang to a Sapa journalist this morning, the ID regards the reports of his landing up in jail as quite plausible," said ID secretary general Haniff Hoosen.
"In fact, seen within the context of the ANC's years-long reputation for saying one thing and doing something completely different, I think it is safe to say that Mr Mthembu has today earned his ANC stripes."
ANC spokesman Ishmael Mnisi said party secretary general Gwede Mantashe was investigating the report of Mthembu's arrest. - Sapa
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