When the African National Congress released a statement welcoming the national disciplinary committee’s (NDC) decision against ANCYL president Julius Malema, they were at pains to point out that they had noted his plea of guilty and his show of remorse.
ANC reaction
In their statement, issued by spokesperson Brian Sokutu, the party welcomed the ruling while noting that Malema pleaded guilty to contravening Rule 25.5.(i) and showed remorse. In addition that he had apologised to President Jacob Zuma (which was in writing).
The ANC also welcomed the corrective nature of the ruling, which includes remedial action like attending the ANC Political School for at least 20 days within the next year, and attending programmes on effective leadership communication and anger management or other appropriate programmes.
The party said that it demonstrated its zero tolerance on conduct not in line with its leadership values.
They then thanked the NDC panel for displaying a high measure of independence and integrity in adjudicating over the matter.
On Wednesday, the Sowetan quoted ANC insiders as saying that key members of the party’s national executive committee had wanted to suspended the outspoken youth leader for two years or more.
ANCYL reaction
ANCYL secretary-general Vuyiswa Tulelo said on Thursday that the R10 000 fine levied on Malema would be paid through member donations.
“We’ll mobilise young people to raise the money,” Tulelo told reporters at a meeting of the ANCYL’s national executive committee. She said this was because Malema did not act individually, but on behalf of the ANCYL.
The charge
Malema was found guilty of charges relating to his public attack on Zuma for rebuking him in public, and in which Malema compared Zuma unfavourably to his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, in that the latter would never have given the ANCYL a public dressing down.
“You [Malema] are guilty of contravening Rule 25.5.(i) of the Constitution of the African National Congress by behaving in such a way as to provoke serious divisions or a break-down of unity in the organisation.” (actual)
Very misguided
The ANC convened a disciplinary inquiry in order to prefer certain charges against Malema, not the ANCYL. If they wanted to charge the youth league they would have done so.
In terms of a plea bargain agreement reached between the complainant and Mathews Phosa, representing Malema, the initial charges were withdrawn and he pleaded guilty to contravening Rule 25.5.(i) of the ANC constitution with better particulars set out in section on “The Charge” above. At no stage was anyone under the misapprehension that he might be pleading on behalf of the ANCYL.
In other words in return for his pleading guilty to his attack on Zuma he was sentenced to :
- Apologise to the president and attend anger-management classes.
- Pay a R10 000 fine to a youth-development project within the next three months and attend the ANC’s political school for 20 days.
Should Malema be found guilty of contravening rule 25.5 (i) of the ANC constitution within the next two years, his membership of the ANC shall be summarily suspended, for a period to be determined by the NDC.
Accordingly if the ANCYL were to pay the fine for Malema they are basically doing the following :
- Usurping the powers of the NDC in deciding who gets punished and how it must be paid.
- Confirming to the president of the ANC and South Africa that when Malema ran off at a tangent and attacked him, he was actually speaking on their behalf. Perhaps they need to clarify now if they mandated Malema to attack Zuma.
- Undermining the secretary-general who charged the president and not the ANCYL as a whole.
- Showing the NDC and indeed the people of the country that Malema was not showing any remorse because now that it’s over the members can pay for his misdeeds.
- Lastly and most importantly by not carrying out the sentence to the letter, Malema — who pleaded guilty to attacking Zuma — is saying that when I pleaded guilty that was out of necessity but I’m not paying the price for my actions.
As such the ANCYL, who are in all likelihood showing loyalty to their president in supporting him despite his personal misdeeds, are being misguided and must step back.
Mike you are quite right but lets face it the ANCYL are so confused they still dont know if they coming or going. They dont understand what has happened and they most certainly dont get the fact that they are out of control. Its only matter of time before JM puts his foot in his mouth again and then the ANC will be forced to suspend him. Then things in SA will get really colourful.
But Traps, what has poor Julius done other than talk about the thorny issues that we are all trying so hard to shy away from? Why can’t we just acknowledge that he talks about issues that are realy affecting the majority of our people.
I like the dude, because unlike others he is not just looting but he is talking about the plight of the people while at it. He has an option to loot in the background and not bring attention to himself, but no he is doing the noble thing and talk about the lack of transformation and other things that we as South African’s has a culture of sweeping under the carpet.
The ANCYL: bass-ackwards. as usual.
@Tlanch Tau
He has an option to loot in the background and not bring attention to himself, but no he is doing the noble thing
Oh please – you have GOT to be kidding me! Not looting? HAVE YOU SEEN HIS INCOME??????
On the contrary,
Malema is being contrite publicly, while responding with his true feelings on the whole matter through his organisation, the ANCYL.
After all, he is its president and they will be doing his bidding with his definite input. Basically he is showing the ANC the middle finger without lifting his own hand.
Happy days
I hav 2 agree with u Tau. But i think he crossed da line when he attacked da president. That is a no go area. We myt not al like him but he is stil the president of the country, patriotism ppl… And Juju should not make da youth pay for his misguided behaviour… We wil not pay…
Tlanch Tau; you do have a point, but there are other key ANC members, including Zuma, who talk about the same issues, yet do not imply that whites are responsible for the increasing poverty, they do not whisper in the background that Mandela was a sellout to white interests, they do not project the image symbolized by himself, that education is unimportant because one could get rich just by political connections, they consult people of knowledge and specific experience before demanding major economic changes like nationalization, and lastly, they use a mature, diplomatic tone and sensible manners rather than unacceptable invectives that are simply unknown in civilized governmental and civic circles.
Long live our leader Cde Malema Long live.Traps does not understand how the youth league operate hence invite him to send his son our brother to join.
We will continue to be the structure of opinion and critcally question what,why,how,who,when,who in order to be able to inform our way of doing things.We as the intelligentia.ALUTA CONTINUA!!1
I think the country is on a knife’s edge and very few people realise it. Nothing more to say really…
cant you journos for once engage Malema on issues he is raising and stop showing your dislike of him?He is raising pertinent issues that affect the poor,like poverty,landlessness and unemployment,the fact that the whites have so much economic power while the majority have nothing.
Or are the poor so poor you dont really care about them?
Tlanch Tau, you can’t expect us to take you seriously when you toss off nebulous phrases like “issues that are affecting the majority of our people” and “transformation” without explaining yourself.
Julius Malema claims to represent the poor (and anyone else convenient) so he can drive a C63AMG, live in a mansion in Sandton, and swig Moet without having to apologise for it. He has no respect for anyone else and no comprehension of the results of his actions. He has single-handedly undone almost every shred of reconciliation and nation-building which has happened since 1994 and nobody has brought this country closer to the brink of a civil war except perhaps Janus Walusz.
So please, avoid the rhetoric and get specific: what issues has Julius Malema raised that are not already ANC policy? The answer: none. And what issue does he keep raising which is not ANC policy: nationalisation of the mines. Julius Malema does not have an original thought in his head does not care about any group of people or issues; he cares about Julius Malema. That’s all.
If the ANCYL do in fact think and do as Malema does, we are in much greater trouble than we ever thought. We suspected that Malema was ‘doing his own thing’ but now it seems that the YL also wants nationalisation, farm invasions, support for African dicators, Zimbabwe type ‘solutions’, racism, revolution, undermining and criticism of the un-reformed courts and anti white agendas.
First it was only Malema, now it may be that the youth of the country as a whole want to follow the self destruction that comes to most new ‘democratised’ African countries.
Malema upset the country, he upset the courts, he insulted, he proposed a future that is bleak, he continues to talk about revolution when the only revolution that is needed is industrial, educational and success building.
He got a pathetic slap on the wrist and many of us still feel that he has more power than the county’s president and that what he says – goes – even if it is covered up most of the time. With Malema’s purported Rmillions the R10,000 fine is a joke.
Malema must be laughing his head off. The ANC never has and never will do what is right when their members do wrong.
I think the ANCYL has the right to challenge the ruling because by the look of thing the whole thing was contaminated, the aim of the person who wrote those charges was to exclude Malema on ANC 2012 National Congress which I think is absurd, whether you agree with him or not as a memeber of ANC has interest in the leadership of the party
The ANC concentrated on ther insult to itself and presedent not the other wild claims and comments that insulted the people of SA.
The Political education coarse will only teach him to use a forked tongue and never, as of late say what he means.
@Tlanch Tau
Please tell me what Julius stands for. The only stuff I hear coming out of his mouth are:
1. Transformation – basically marginalising anyone who is not black and anc, no vision of a diverse country. He has actively endorsed zanu-pf and Mugabe, who have effectively destroyed a thriving economy in the last 10 years.
2. Nationalisation, without describing how the state will effectively make use of mining resources to benefit the country, considering the state of our other state owned enterprises. Before you answer about redistributing wealth etc just think about the nuts and bolts for a while. The answer is not that obvious.
3. Sexism – accused Helen Zille of having sexual relations with her cabinet, and issue judgement on the mental state of Zuma’s rape accuser, despite not having the faintest qualification to do so.
4. No respect for the media, especially when they ask valid challenging questions. That outburst showed his true colours – he had been compared to Idi Amin.
5. Violence in SA – he proclaimed that he would kill for zuma. He starts singing a song about killing farmers 7 years after the end of apartheid and then says its a struggle song used to remember the old days (before he or any of the YL were born.
Where are his views on the state of:
1. education
2. jobs
3. crime
4. corruption
in the country? Please send any/all links to all material where he has contibuted to informed debate.
You say…..”ANCYL not helping Malema’s cause”
I say…..Good.
Tlanch Tau. I can hardly believe you meant what you said ‘he is not just looting he is….’ But words are so cheap!! Why, if he means all he says, is he not DELIGHTED to put R10,000 into a betterment fund for a youth organisation? Why has he got two houses and all that bling? Surely, if he really wanted to put his (ill gotten) money where his increadilby large mouth is, he would stop looting and start investing in his people, and so would the rest of his henchmen. Why doesn’t the ANCYL rather raise funds for the betterment of those sorely in need? That would show he/they are actually CAPABLE of bettering lives other than their own. Is it alright then, to JUST LOOT and shoot your mouth off?
Ayi, are charges preferred or proffered!?
Anyhow, these people are insulting our intelligence. What political school is this Juju will attend? Will the rest of us ordinary members also be able to attend or are they setting it up for juju specifically?
He crossed the line not when he attacked the President but when he used herd boy insults on Chief Buthelezi, the BBC journalist, Helen Zille, Patricia De Lille. He crossed the line when in the same beer hall humour he insulted the female section of the media and the media in general. He crossed the line when he attacked the judiciary while in a foreign country. He crossed the line when he attacked the MDC and cast into doubt the ANC led government’s status of honest broker. He crossed the line when he became a willing pawn in ZANU PF’s strategy. He crossed the line when he refused to consider that objections to the not so funny ditty (cannot compose one for these times)could be reasonable. There are many situations that called for censure but which the ANC thought inconsequential.
Charging and condmning him just because he expressed dismay at Zuma’s ingratitude shows the contempt that the ANC has for the people of South Africa.
Anything julius has to say about poverty alleviation, I would regard as unsupported, and mear vote gathering statements. While he continues to live in a lap of luxury on the ill-gotten gains of handouts,at the expense of hard working people, while a stones throw from his house poor people are numerous. Were not interested. And he should pay for his own damn fine, if there are enough ancyl members to stupid enough to pay his fine for him. Then god help us all. Then perhaps the anc should have suspended him to teach this bunch a lesson. Clearly they do not realise that they are part of the anc, and if they no longer area with the views of the parent body should start their own party and see how far they get.
This young man needs guidance,we potentially have a good leader.I recommend he studies economics or law,and stay away from sociology and related studies,those will not make him smart.Please ANC nuture this young man to follow costructive route,and allow him to go and play at tertiary institution like his peers,stop confusing him any further,he must be busy moulding his future intellectually through education.Its a joke to think you will be smart without education.Please sonny,go to school.
if this is a true democracy Malema should be left to say what he wants. If only it becomes criminal then can he be told to account for it in a court of law.
You guys wanted the ANC to remove his pants and spank him on the bottoms. its not going to happen that way. This is what people fought for “to openly say what they want”.
If JZ allows himself to be led by the media like he did he will be losing it. The truth is he said what he feels which is what should happen in a democracy. If you disagree with him just ignore him and not give him acres of spares in newspapers, just ignore him.
I think the ANC have made a strategic mistake that could come back to haunt it, although many South Africans expected no less. More pertinent is what people abroad think: it’s ok to rah-on Mugabe; ok to insult and belittle white people and women and ok to shoot his mouth off about subjects he patently doesn’t understand, but it’s not ok to chastise Zuma publicly?
If that’s what SA stands for, our investment will dry up; the help we receive from foreign countries in the engineering, green, medical, education, health and social welfare fields will go elsewhere and the ANC will only have itself to blame. As I have said before, the ANC is its own opposition!
This was the perfect opportunity for the ANC to show the world it cares about others than itself. Like a self-absorbed teenager, it missed the point entirely and lost the plot. Believe me, there are chickens here that will come home to roost!
JM should have been left to finish the job himself; the ANC has just put off the inevitable.
Ok, I am going to try and spell it out and see if people will actually understand what I am on about.
@ian shaw on May 13th, 2010 at 8:20 pm and others.
Reality is Julius needs to have the money and the support to say all these things, hence in my first comment I said that I love what he does because “unlike others he is not just looting but he is talking about the plight of the people while at it”. Julius would not be able to talk about all these thing if he was some “Themba” who works in the corporate world because his job and his chances of future employment would be in trouble. The looting is happening within the rulling party in any case, but this guy Julius is the one who is a real champion of the people as he is at least talking about these things that the big guns of the ANC who are busy looting and having business relations witht the corporate world are not talking them. They are only looking out for themselves and at least Julius is looking out for others while he is looting in the background. And like I said, he doesn’t have to do this, he can just be some tenderpreneur with 16 Luxury cars living in Polokwane and people will not know him and nothign will be written of him.
@Tlanch Tau. This Julius, what is he DOING for all these people he is looking out for? So far, it appears to me that the NET results of his undignified behaviour is ZERO.
Is there someone out there endowed with the wisdom of Solomon? If so, i would appreciate input as to what made Matthew Phosa to represent julius malema at the latter’s disciplinary hearing?
Phosa is a member of the anc’s NEC, and as such is part of a team that, inter alia, exercises authority over anc members. in my mind, it stands to reason, therefore, that when the national disciplinary committee (NDC) carries out its tasks, it does so with the express and delegated authority of the NEC.
I am baffled that Phosa can so easily wear two hats, and no eyebrows are raised that he, a member of the NEC, could represent malema before a committee that derives its mandate from the same NEC of which Phosa is a member.
Just another illustration of the arrogance of the ruling party, i guess.
@Julius,
I would love to see Malema in a debate. Unfortuanately he is too cowardly to take up the challenge, he would rather it be a monologue. PLus if you disagree with him you are just a bloody agent.
If you are such big buddies with him then tell him to man up and debate those people who have challenged him and stop yapping like a hyena.
Tianch Tau: Thanks for the clarification. Let me “…unlike others he (Julius) is not just looting but he is talking about the plight of the people” “…Julius is looking out …”
Fair enough. But lots of high-ranking people in the ANC are saying exactly what he says.
OK, but they are not doing anything, just talking.
Now please tell me what else is Julius doing except talking. But please don’t bring it up that he distributed food parcels (to gain votes?). Yes what did he actually do besides giving speeches that the crowd loved? Did he do anything concrete to better the lives of young people? Is he involved in making the education system work? Did he talk to those who recently destroyed a school in protest? Did he tell them that destroying educational facilities is countrary to their real interests? Did he do anything constructive to propose at least temporary solutions for young people overcome unemployment problems? Talk is cheap. I would like to see a real ANCYL leader who would engage in such activities. Unfortunately he is a chep self-serving demagogue who wants to gather unthinking followers. Let qualified people debate and examine all sides of the mine nationalisation question and not relinquish teh subject to rubble-rousers-
@ian shaw on June 7th, 2010 at 9:24
I suspect you are not willing to read what I wrote and understand it. So lemme try and answer your question.
At least Julius is getting us talking about issues that many a people especially the white South African’s don’t want to talk about, like transformation in this country or the lack of it. He also talks about racism and he is getting us to talk about it unlike millions of people who are looking the other way when these things are actually happening.
So understand here, I don’t have much time to reply to your questions. Try and understand what I am talking about by reading the 3 comments I made on this article.