Zindzi Mandela 'heartbroken' that ANC defended FW de Klerk's presence at SONA

The daughter of former president Nelson Mandela has tweeted that she is heartbroken following Thursday's State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Zindzi Mandela wrote that, as a loyal and dedicated member of the ANC, she is heartbroken. She posted a picture of her mother Winnie Madikizela-Mandela being arrested by apartheid-era police officers.

Mandela tweeted that the action against her mother and many others had happened while FW De Klerk was president. She questioned what the ANC stood for.

Mandela's tweet comes after EFF leader Julius Malema rose on a point of order on Thursday night and asked National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise to eject De Klerk.

He charged that the former president was an "unrepentant apologist of apartheid" and that it was an insult to those who died at Vlakplaas to have him present in a democratic Parliament.

WATCH | EFF calls for De Klerk to be thrown out of SONA: 'He is an unrepentant apologist of apartheid'

"He is an unrepentant apologist of apartheid who is not willing to accept that apartheid was [a] crime against humanity," the EFF leader added.

"My submission, Speaker, is that, please, for us to have peaceful proceedings, we should ask the commander of Vlakplaas, apartheid apologist, a man with blood on his hands, to leave this Parliament because he does not belong here."

Apologised for apartheid

Modise, however, argued the history of the country was there for everybody and the presence of De Klerk was proper.

Last week, while marking the 30th anniversary of his speech unbanning the ANC, De Klerk granted a number of interviews in which he spoke about apartheid.

READ | Ramaphosa: Mandela's release 30 years ago was SA's victory, not an act of kindness by FW de Klerk

He noted that he had apologised for apartheid and that it had been wrong.

In an interview with eNCA, he also said: "I sincerely believe that, yes, apartheid has left marks which are still visible today and which people still feel today, but to blame everything which is wrong in South Africa today after 25 years on apartheid is also not true."

 - Compiled by Vanessa Banton. Additional reporting by Sesona Ngqakamba.