Mutodi sorry for suggesting Ndebele people are refugees

Deputy information minister Energy Mutodi has apologised after receiving a backlash on Tuesday for appearing to suggest that Ndebeles were refugees in Zimbabwe.

The gaffe-prone minister was calling on South Africans to show tolerance on foreigners when he gave the example of Zimbabwe, which he said had “accommodated” Ndebele people fleeing from King Shaka.

Mutodi has since done a u-turn after a video he made speaking on SA Xenophobia sparked outrage.

In the video posted yesterday on Micro-blogging site Twitter,Mutodi implied Ndebele people were refugees in Zimbabwe and the Minister was blasted for his insensitive comments..

The former Rhumba singer took to Twitter this evening and issued the statement below.

My tweet saying about 3 million Zimbabweans were of South African descent has riled some Zimbabweans. The tweet has been misunderstood, giving political capital to the opposition. I wish to withdraw the tweet & unreservedly issue my apologies to whoever was affected.