SACP’s Mapaila says sorry to PAC

South African Communist Party (SACP) deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila has apologised to the late Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) leader Robert Sobukwe’s family and party after he claimed Sobukwe was given preferential treatment by the apartheid regime, while fellow Robben Island inmates were treated as slaves.

‘’During my address on The National Question: Race, Class and Gender, at the Liliesleaf Farm in Johannesburg, I made comments regarding the unforgivable segregatory approach that was followed by the apartheid regime with regard to the treatment of prisoners, specifically Robben Island prisoners. In emphasising the point, I included the name of Professor Robert Sobukwe as an example,’’ Mapaila said in a statement yesterday.

‘’I hereby furnish an unreserved apology to the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), the Sobukwe family and to his legacy. I fully respect the professor’s contribution to the liberation struggle.’’

The SACP leader said he met with PAC president Narius Moloto yesterday and apologised.

‘’I have also spoken with the Sobukwe family, through Dini Sobukwe, to express my profound apology and will create time to visit the family.’’