I AM WRITING this letter as a concerned young South African who is tired of the way one man has been given a platform to claim the sole right to represent the views of everyone under the age of 35 in our nation.

I AM WRITING this letter as a concerned young South African who is tired of the way one man has been given a platform to claim the sole right to represent the views of everyone under the age of 35 in our nation.

I have been following the media hype around ANC Youth League president Julius Malema. My concern is not with him as a person, his business endeavours or his political affiliations. If anything he should be commended for passion for and commitment to his cause, albeit controversial and (according to my perception) misguided at times.

My concern is with the silence of the alternative emerging leadership voice that should be representing a growing group of peace-seeking young South Africans who do not buy into the propaganda that one man's prosperity - which he is free to pursue in an honest fashion - equates to emancipation for others less fortunate than himself.

Malema's tune at this stage sounds too much like the song sung by various self-serving African leaders that have wreaked havoc on our continent, and less like the peace-seeking wisdom of the heroes and elders that have fought and died for the freedom of our nation. His freedom. My freedom.

I will continue to celebrate and honour the battles for justice in our nation, deeply thankful for the forgiveness extended a little more than two decades ago. But our nation has new battles to fight now.

I am concerned that the hope of reconciliation left by the leaders who chose inclusive forgiveness, and not divisive revenge, is being threatened if I listen to the current unwise noise propagated from the media-amplified mouths of the potential future leaders of our nation.

Cilnette Pienaar, Stellenbosch