The ANC Youth League will not take any more questions on its president Julius Malema’s “media conducted lifestyle audit”, it said on Tuesday.
“The chapter is closed, we should move on and members of the media are humbly requested to respect that we are doing no further enquiries,” read a statement.
They felt that Monday’s press conference and subsequent interviews had clarified “the misrepresentations and rumours spread in the media about the leadership of the ANCYL”.
The failed attempt to question Malema’s integrity had re-energised the organisation and they were now more determined to fight for socioeconomic transformation, including the nationalisation of mines, and a “proper perspective in 2012”, a reference to the ANC’s next elective conference.
Earlier, spokesperson Floyd Shivambu insisted that the Companies and Intellectual Properties Registration Office (Cipro) had not carried out instructions to remove Malema from company directorships.
“That thing has been clarified several times — the lawyer even showed e.tv the acceptance by Cipro of the application,” he said.
On Tuesday Cipro insisted that Malema had not applied to be resigned as the director of three companies and co-director of one which did business in Limpopo, where Malema hails from.
“It’s just confusion — as far as we are concerned, he has resigned,” said Shivambu.
The league spent Tuesday conducting a media blitz on the controversy over the league president’s assets and suggestions that he may have used his political influence to benefit the companies he was associated with.
They believe it is part of a conspiracy by several forces and say the National Intelligence Agency had supplied them with a list of supporters of President Jacob Zuma who are being targeted.
They handed the list over to the the police for further investigation, but would not say which police station the list was handed in to.
“We are not going to give details of that but that list exists. It is an official document that is coming from the state intelligence.”
‘Forces of darkness’
Provincial offices on Tuesday blamed “forces of darkness” for the controversy surrounding Malema’s personal assets and company directorships.
The Northern Cape’s provincial executive committee said it would back him for a second term as league president.
“We believe that his charisma and oratory skills complemented by his excellent work ethic would once again put him in pole position to come out on tops [sic] for a second term as the president of the ANC Youth League,” said the statement.
The Northern Cape branch had already begun “to mobilise our human arsenal and artillery to canvass for the candidature of Comrade Julius Malema …” – Sapa