Politics
Youth leader, Julius Malema expelled from ANC
Julius Malema. PHOTO/File
The African National Congress (ANC) expelled the party’s youth leader late Wednesday, the latest attempt to control a figure who has angered his elders with his militant rhetoric and persistent questioning of policy.
The timing of the announcement illustrated the rift between Julius Malema and his party. It had been expected much earlier Wednesday but, according to South African media reports, was delayed for hours because Malema did not present himself at ANC headquarters in Johannesburg to hear his fate before it was released to the public.
Malema’s Youth League had said its members would have no comment on the announcement. Malema could appeal, or try to campaign as an outsider for influence.
Malema’s youth wing is known for getting voters to the polls and using its weight to choose party leaders. Malema is credited with helping President Jacob Zuma come to power in 2009.
The party’s disciplinary committee ruled in November that Malema had sown intolerance and disunity within the party, and sentenced him to a five-year suspension. Malema appealed, and ended up with a much tougher sentence, expulsion.
In a lengthy statement, the disciplinary committee referred to him as a “repeat offender” who had been reprimanded in 2010.
“He has now been found guilty of two serious offenses in under two years; has shown no remorse; is not prepared to be disciplined by the ANC and is not prepared to respect the disciplinary machinery of the organization,” the committee said, adding that as a consequent of his expulsion from the parent body, his membership and presidency of the Youth League also would end.
