/ 3 May 2010

D-Day for Malema

D Day For Malema

ANC youth leader Julius Malema was facing a busy day on Monday.

Malema was expected to appear before a disciplinary hearing at Luthuli House in Johannesburg for bringing the ruling party into
disrepute.

“He has been served with a notice and we expect him on Monday,” said the chairperson of the disciplinary hearing, Derek Hanekom, who is also the deputy science and technology minister.

However, ANCYL spokesperson Magdalene Moonsamy told the South African Press Association on Sunday that she was “not aware” of Malema having received notice to appear at the hearing.

Malema did have at least one other engagement on Monday.

The Equality Court in Johannesburg was expected to hear a hate-speech complaint against him, lodged by Afriforum Youth, for singing a song containing with the words “shoot the boer”.

Malema sang the struggle song in Zimbabwe after the ANC had asked him to avoid songs that could stoke racial tension and was seen to undermine President Jacob Zuma’s Zimbabwe mediation efforts by declaring his support for Zanu-PF and President Robert Mugabe.

Public criticism
After a public rebuke by Zuma, Malema criticised the ANC president, saying: “Even [former] president Thabo Mbeki, when he differed from the youth league — and the youth league had taken firm radical positions against him — he never did that.”

Now top ANC officials were set to decide on Malema’s future in the party, with a hearing that could end in either a reprimand, suspension or even expulsion.

Some weekend papers speculated that Malema might plead guilty to avoid a harsh sentence.

If Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s remarks in Durban on Sunday were anything to go by, Malema — who recently called a BBC journalist a “bastard” and a “bloody agent” — was in trouble.

Mthethwa reminisced about ANC youth leaders of the past who were “disciplined … matured”, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported on Monday morning.

“Nelson Mandela in his early years … these were young people but they were solid, they were disciplined, they were mature,” said Mthethwa, adding: “Then look where we are today … we have the leader — Juju boy, Julius Malema.”

Even from within the youth league’s ranks, Malema seemed to be losing some support.

The Star reported on Monday that a group of ANCYL members declared war on Malema at a conference held in Limpopo, shouting, “Down with Julius Malema, down!” – Sapa