2oceans Vibe

A special report in the Daily Maverick today has indicated that Julius Malema should in all likelihood face some much needed disciplining soon, at least from the ruling party that is. According to the report, the ANC is drawing up charges against Malema and a few of his sidekicks following two meetings of the party’s bosses on Monday.

Carien du Plessis, one of the Maverick’s senior reporters, received word from sources that the ruling party is preparing to give Julius more than just a rap over the knuckles for a change.

Supposedly Julius and other members of the league have managed to infringe upon the ANC’s constitution and this has not gone down well with senior members of the party.

How have they done this? At the end of July, Malema told journalists that the league wanted to work with opposition parties in Botswana to oust the ruling Botswana Democratic Party in South Africa’s northern neighbouring state, amongst other things.

In an interview with the BBC on Monday, President Jacob Zuma’s spin doctor Mac Maharaj put it pretty simply:

You’ll be surprised how it [the ANCYL] needs to be attended to – it doesn’t just require a rap on the knuckles.

The officials who attended the main meeting included President Zuma, Kgalema Motlanthe, Gwede Mantashe, his deputy Thandi Modise, chairwoman Baleka Mbete and treasurer-general Mathews Phosa.

Details of what the charges entail have not yet been revealed, and the charge sheets have apparently not been delivered to the youth league yet either.

Du Plessis wasn’t able to coax a lot of information out of Gwede Mantashe when she called him for his opinion on the matter and he danced around her questions pressing for information about the charges.

Gwede chose to say he didn’t know what was going on, but did let out a giggle when questioned about whether charges will be brought against the league.

The ANCYL also sidestepped her questions and youth league secretary-general, Sindiso Magaqa, said:

You must ask that from the ANC. It was a meeting of the ANC. You must ask them, ask Gwede.

The league has not been shy about wanting a replacement for Zuma and it was only a matter of time before enough people got irritated enough to do something about this.

If the charges are brought against Malema, it could be an indication that Zuma is intent on hanging around for another term as president.

Last year, Malema was given a suspended sentence when he was convicted of causing trouble within the party by comparing the leadership of Zuma with that of Thabo Mbeki.

Effectively what this means is that if Malema is convicted again before April next year, he will be suspended from the ANC.

[Source: DailyMaverick]