Allan Boesak says his plans to launch a United Democratic Front-style party also include appropriate 1980s accessories that match the ideology and aesthetic of the movement.

Speaking to journalists this morning, Boesak said that the new party would stand for non-racial democracy, human rights, leg-warmers, shoulder pads and high-top sneakers.

Boesak rose to prominence in the 1980s for his leadership in the UDF and for his exceptional break-dancing and beat-boxing skills, and by 1987 he was reviled by the apartheid security apparatus for being able to mobilise popular support in the townships while moonwalking in stone-washed jeans past police barricades.

However, the cleric fell from grace in 1999 when he was convicted of fraud, having sold a Paula Abdul mix tape to his congregation by persuading them it was Janet Jackson with a cold.

This morning Boesak said it was time forget the past, except for the 1980s which had been radical, and to look forward to 2009.

"It was the great philosophers Milli and Vanilli who said, 'Those who forget the mistakes of the 1980s are destined to repeat them'," said Boesak.

"This country is crying out for a return to the values of the 1980s, when people were more open and honest, and when friends could do the Locomotion and buy a packet of chips for 33 cents."

He said that the founding tenet of his new party, and of the 1980s, was non-violence.

"The 80s made us understand that when you get angry or you're being persecuted you don't fight.

"You dance.

"Alone, with some air-guitar to show your pain."

He said that the most effective angry-dancing was done in an abandoned factory, a barn, or an alley with steam coming out of manholes.

"South Africa's poor are angry. They have been ignored, and they are angry. They need jobs and food, but most of all they need abandoned factories and some barns so that they can express their anger in an aesthetically pleasing way."

He said that his party would be launching a major initiative next month to get scrunchies and leg-warmers into the townships.

"It is time for the voiceless to be heard," he said.

"Let the drum-pads of freedom beat, let the synthesiser of unity play the music of sweet democracy, all night long, all night, yeah, all night long, all night."

For more from SA's best satirical website, www.hayibo.com, please click here.

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