I have today laid a charge of incitement to commit a crime against Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) Secretary-General Zwelinzima Vavi at Cape Town Central Police Station, for echoing ANC Youth League (ANCYL) President Julius Malema's "kill for Zuma" remarks in Kempton Park on Saturday.

This follows a similar charge laid against Malema by the DA last week.

Where Mr Vavi, as a senior member of the tripartite alliance leadership, and Malema's political senior, should have publicly rebuked the Youth League president for his reckless comments, he has instead opted to descend to his level, employing the same dangerous, unlawful, and deeply unconstitutional rhetoric in a callous show of contempt for the rule of law.

Neither Vavi nor Malema can make any claims to having the interests of any South Africans at heart if they continue to abuse public platforms to make comments that reinforce the culture of violence in our society, and which endorse the use of violence for the political gain of any person or party.

The most distressing aspect of this debacle is the vacuum left by ANC President Jacob Zuma's failure to publicly rebuke the instigation of violence on his behalf, which is clearly leading to the escalation of its occurrence. These statements could very well incite real violence if repeated often enough - especially in the event that Zuma's presidential bid is scuppered ahead of the next election.

Malema's refusal to retract his comments and Vavi's insulting stance towards an important constitutional institution such as the Human Rights Commission show that these two men are as fundamentally undemocratic as the statements that they have made. In turn, Zuma's failure to act against them, either as President of the ANC, or as a potential future President of our country shows that he is completely unsuitable to be considered as a custodian of our democracy and of the interests of all South Africans.

Zuma may choose to leave Vavi and Malema to continue in their ignorance with impunity, but he cannot expect the rest of South Africa to do so at the cost of its people and its democracy. We have therefore laid these charges and will follow up on the progress of the cases against both, to ensure that they are punished to the full extent of the law.

Statement issued by Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader, Sandra Botha MP, June 23 2008