ANC Youth League President Julius Malema remained defiant after being publicly rebuked by President Jacob Zuma on Sunday, e.tv reported.
Speaking at a press conference at the ANCYL’s conference in Limpopo on Sunday, Malema said he would not take personal responsibility for his remarks regarding Zimbabwe last week.
He said he “can’t understand” why he had been rebuked for his statements on Zimbabwe, as the views expressed was not his, but those of the youth league.
“We [the ANCYL] did not sneak out of the country [to visit Zimbabwe],” he said. “We had the blessings of President Zuma,” Malema told South African Broadcasting Corporation news.
He said he was shocked about the way he had been rebuked by Zuma.
“Even [former] president Thabo Mbeki, when he differed with the youth league, and the youth league had taken firm radical positions against him, he never did that,” he said.
Zuma said at a news conference in Durban on Saturday that Malema’s conduct was “alien to the ANC” and criticised the youth league leader for defying the court ruling which banned the singing of the “dubul’ ibhunu” (shoot the boer) song.
He also condemned Malema for his treatment of a British journalist during a press conference and for the statements he made about the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) after his visit to Zimbabwe.
Zuma said he had spoken to Malema by telephone about what happened in Zimbabwe and how he had treated the reporter.
Malema called BBC journalist Jonah Fisher a “bastard” and an “agent” before booting him out of the media briefing on April 8.
‘Think before they speak’
“We reiterate that leaders should think before they speak, as their utterances have wider implications for the country,” Zuma told the media in Durban.
Malema said Zuma had a “right to say whatever he wants to say”, and to rein in the youth league. He said the ANCYL would engage Zuma within the ANC structures to discuss the issues.
“I still want to know in a meeting what we did wrong,” he said.
“I have not done anything to undermine the ANC.”
He said he was prepared to face any action taken against him.
Malema said he would not keep quiet on the murder of Terre’Blanche, as he was only defending himself and his family name after being accused of Terre’Blanche’s murder.
“I can’t be accused of killing Eugene Terre’Blanche and people expect me to keep quiet,” he said.
New leader
A new leader was elected at a youth league congress in Limpopo on Saturday evening. Delegates who were forcibly removed from the conference vowed never to recognise new chairperson Frans Moswane.
The delegates, who supported another candidate — Lehlogonolo Masonga — said that the election of Moswane had not been democratic after they were removed from the conference by police on Saturday.
They accused Malema of orchestrating their removal to ensure that his preferred candidate was elected.
“He instructed police to take us out from the conference yesterday. We are going home because we are tired of the agendas of Malema, “
one delegate told the broadcaster. “We are tired of the dictatorship of Malema.”
Another angry delegate was quoted as saying: “We won’t recognise, we don’t recognise and we will never recognise this new leader”. – Sapa