He criticised Deputy Sport Minister Gert Oosthuizen for calling for Chuene's dismissal.

Malema also said the ANCYL would make it clear to the International Association of Athletics Federations that it should not "impose" its concept of "hermaphrodite" on South Africa.

Australian newspapers have reported that IAAF gender tests on Semenya suggested that she was a hermaphrodite.

"Hermaphrodite, what is that? Somebody tell me, what is hermaphrodite in Pedi? There's no such thing, hermaphrodite, in Pedi. So don't impose your hermaphrodite concepts on us.

"You are either a woman or a man. When a child is born you are announcing it's a baby girl or a baby boy. We have never heard in the village a child being projected, 'we are given a hermaphrodite'. There's never been such a thing in a village we come from.

"Why should we be told today our children are hermaphrodites? She's a girl and why should we accept concepts that are imposed on us by the imperialists? We will never agree to that concept. You are either a girl or a boy and that's it."

Malema later said he was not speaking in "scientific" terms but in "cultural" terms.

"This girl [Semenya] must be protected to continue to run as a girl."

Malema lamented the fact that none of the three medal winners from Berlin had been offered any sponsorships since their return home.

He said the ANCYL would double the amounts of money it was planning to give the athletes.

"For the first time, we bring three African children with medals in an African country, South Africa. Corporate is not proud about that and we are told we must not talk about that we must keep quiet.

"If we talk about it, we are perpetuating divisions in this country... [but] we'll never, never keep quiet.

"If it was somebody else [who had won medals in Berlin], they [sponsors] would have been lining up at the airport with already printed T-shirts and everything else in the name of their companies," said Malema.

"Who controls big corporates in South Africa? if you know that, then it will give you an answer why these people cannot get a proper sponsorship and that is what we must keep quiet to."