WHEN addressing students a while ago former president Thabo Mbeki denied that he ever said HIV doesn't cause Aids.

Mbeki challenged anyone who says he uttered those words to prove it. This was probably the invention of the media, as it was in the case of Judge Hillary Squires.

That said, whether the former president was misquoted or not on the matter is neither here nor there.

The pressing issue is that during his tenure many people died of Aids because his government refused to give infected people anti-retrovirals.

The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) had to drag the government to court to force it to roll out ARVs. As fate would have it, the court ruled in favour of the TAC.

Still the Mbeki government took its time to honour the court's ruling.

It is against this background that Young Communist leader Buti Manamela has called for Mbeki and former minister of health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang to be charged with genocide.

Manamela's statement has solicited varying responses.

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema has responded by saying that Mbeki should not be charged for what Manamela called a genocide.

I thought the TAC would jump to support Manamela.

I'm sure the nation would like to know what its stance is on the matter.

But with Malema being against the call to charge Mbeki, it seems the former president will get away with murder.

Thabile Mange, Kagiso