The South African Communist Party has apologised for booing ANC Youth League president Julius Malema.

The South African Communist Party has apologised for booing ANC Youth League president Julius Malema.

m alema and ANC delegates were booed while attending the SACP special national congress in Polokwane last December.

The party told a meeting of the top leadership of the ANC and the SACP that it "reaffirmed its regret at the booing that occurred at the special national congress in December 2009".

"Both parties agreed that there would be no further personalised public attacks on each other," the parties said in a joint statement.

ANCYL spokesperson Floyd Shivambu said organisation welcomed SACP's apology following Malema's heckling.

ANC and SACP bosses discussed the report by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale on the booing incident, which forced Malema to leave the SACP congress prematurely and threatening to report the matter to President Jacob Zuma.

Malema also blamed ANC general secretary Gwede Mantashe for not protecting him against SACP members who insulted him and accused him of being a voice of capitalists and the business sector.

The SACP also ridiculed the ANCYL campaign for the government to nationalise mines as a ploy by BEE benefactors whose investments in the mining sector had failed.

"I was unhappy with the delegates booing us when we were introduced," Malema told reporters after the booing

"You invite people to your conference and then you just boo them and howl at them like that? We were humiliated in front of everybody," he said, blaming Mantashe and SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande.

The booing incident caused tensions in the alliance but Zuma, who chaired yesterday's alliance meeting, told both parties that their members had been in the wrong.

Both parties have also assured the president they will discuss future ways of engaging with the alliance's five key priority areas outlined by the ANC manifesto.