Suspended for ‘being anti-Zuma’

Ten senior members of the ANC Youth League in the Western Cape were suspended this week — allegedly for not supporting Jacob Zuma as the next ANC president.

A senior ANC leader in the Western Cape, who asked not to be named, confirmed the suspensions, but said they had resulted from the disruption of a meeting.

However, one of the suspended members, who also did not want to be named because he ‘feared for his life”, said the suspensions were rooted in the ANC leadership battles in the Western Cape between supporters of premier Ebrahim Rasool and ANC secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha. These, he said, were ‘out of control”.

‘The leadership battle between Rasool and Skwatsha is heating up ahead of the ANC provincial conference in June or July this year. The ANCYL will also have their conference at the end of this month,” he said.

‘Skwatsha is seen as a Zuma supporter and Rasool as an Mbeki man. People are desperate for no dissident voices to be heard. The ANCYL want to come out with one voice supporting Zuma and they suspended us because we’re vocal in our support of Mbeki,” he continued.

Among those fired was the provincial chairperson of the National Youth Commission, Vincent Domingo. He could not be reached for comment.

The Mail & Guardian has seen a copy of a letter, sent out by Youth League chairperson Siyazi Tyatyam, which lists the grounds for the suspensions.

Among these grounds are ‘grave offences against the organisation”, intending to ‘destroy the integrity of the organisation, its personnel, property or organisational capacity”, and ‘persistently and without cause undermining the respect for the functioning of the structures of the organisation”.

Tyatyam refused to comment. ‘If you’re not telling me who told you about the suspensions, you are not being transparent with me and therefore I don’t have to talk to you about internal ANC matters,” he said.

‘My organisational discipline tells me not to talk to you if you don’t reveal your sources.”

The conflict that triggered the suspensions took place at a regional ANCYL meeting in Nyanga, attended by about 70 league members representing branches across the Western Cape. Sources say Domingo was told he was not invited and should leave the meeting.

The Mail & Guardian spoke to three ANC members who attended the Nyanga meeting. All three said the ANCYL leadership was ‘desperately keen” to ensure unanimous support for Zuma.

One of the league members who received a suspension letter said the Nyanga meeting was called to secure a vote of no-confidence in the Youth Commission because it was seen ‘as Rasool’s baby”.

‘A group of us said the Youth Commission has nothing to do with party politics and we shouldn’t pass a vote of no confidence in that organisation. We were then accused of being pro-Rasool and anti-Skwatsha.

‘Then a group of guys received letters suspending us from the Youth League, of which I’ve been a member for many years.”