'Zuma's not my friend': Malema

The relationship between Julius Malema and ANC president Jacob Zuma has hit rock bottom.

Gone are the days when Malema said he was prepared to kill for Zuma. As pressure mounted on him yesterday, Malema redefined his relationship with Zuma and said he did not want a friendship with the ANC president.

The youth firebrand, who supported Zuma in his darkest hour - notably during his bid to become the party's president - said yesterday he was not a friend of Zuma and that they had only a working relationship.

Malema told journalists at Luthuli House, the ANC headquarters, in Johannesburg, that the outcome of his disciplinary hearing today could determine his future as the president of the youth league.

"I have never had a relationship with the president of the ANC personally. My relationship with the president of the ANC has always been organisational and that's how we continue to relate.

"I have never wanted a relationship with the president of the ANC," he said.

In 2008, during a Youth Day rally in Thaba'Nchu, in the Free State, Malema said: "We're prepared to die for Zuma. We're prepared to take up arms and kill for Zuma."

Malema said this as he called for all corruption charges against Zuma to be dropped.

Yesterday, he seemed to be very conservative when responding to questions about his relationship with Zuma after the ruling party decided to charge him and his officials.

Malema said relations between Zuma and the youth league had not soured.

"The last time I saw [Zuma] was in the [meeting of the] national executive committee of the ANC [last week], and we greeted with the president of the ANC. There's no bad blood.

"So there is nothing different that is happening now, that has not happened before, and the relations continues to be like that.

"Actually, a Monday before the [meeting of the national executive committee], we had a one-on-one with [him], speaking about other organisational issues, and there was no bad blood between the two of us."

Though Zuma is out of the country, on an official visit to Oslo, Norway, he, along with the officials of the ANC, will need to decide on Malema's future after the disciplinary hearing.

Malema said the outcome of the disciplinary hearing was not significant, and that the future of his national executive committee would be in the hands of the ANC.

"The disciplinary hearing of the ANC is not the end of the road.

"Whatever the outcome, the political leadership will still have to take a political decision on all these things that we are talking about.