The mitigation hearing for ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema and two other league members was expected to continue on Thursday.
Six hours were set aside on Monday to allow Malema, his spokesperson Floyd Shivambu, and the league’s secretary general Sindiso Magaqa an opportunity to argue in mitigation of their suspension from the ruling party.
The hearing continued late into the day and was adjourned for Thursday by the ANC national disciplinary committee (NDC).
Despite the hearing continuing, the league said it would hold a media briefing on the outcomes of its lekgotla last week at Luthuli House in Johannesburg on Thursday morning.
On Monday, NDC chairperson Derek Hanekom said the ruling party would also be allowed to argue in aggravation of sentencing.
Hanekom said the NDC wanted to correct “misleading” statements that the league’s leaders had been charged for calling for the nationalisation of mines, expropriation of land, and “economic freedom”.
“At no stage were these issues a factor in the current cases. Any argument suggesting that the hearings at any stage had anything to do with these issues is devoid of any truth.”
On February 4 the ANC’s appeals committee announced that attempts by Malema, Shivambu, Magaqa and three other youth league officials to have the guilty verdicts against them overturned had been dismissed.
They were found guilty in November last year of bringing the ANC into disrepute and of sowing division in the party. This was after they made comments about regime change in Botswana, undermined Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba’s authority, insulted a journalist, and compared President Jacob Zuma unfavourably to his predecessor Thabo Mbeki. — Sapa