FOR THE RECORD

IN A tribute published in The Mercury on Tuesday, September 12 to the late ANC Youth League leader Sindiso Magaqa, Western Cape ANC spokesperson Yonelo Diko used some paragraphs from Robert F Kennedy’s speech without proper attribution.

The Mercury published the article believing it was entirely the author’s original work.

When given a chance to explain, Diko admitted that some paragraphs published in the article came from Robert F Kennedy’s speech after Martin Luther King was assassinated.

“As a writer, I should know better to always reference all material used. RFK gave a powerful speech at a tense moment and I found this relevant to Magaqa. The reason for not referencing him, however, was conscious and basic. RFK remains a liberal, American, and ideologically represents a different political posture from what I represent.

“I therefore chose to paraphrase him. Clearly I did not do such a good job or at least it was still evident I took his work and this offended some. It remains inexcusable however, although it forms a limited part of a very long article. That part, however, is effectively withdrawn,” he said in a statement.

The Mercury apologises to readers.

● The Mercury welcomes comments and suggestions, or complaints about errors that warrant correction. These can be e-mailed to mercnews@inl. co.za