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Sat May 26 14:30:28 SAST 2012

Malema stays defiant at mitigation hearing

SIBUSISO NGALWA | 19 February, 2012 00:3224 Comments
Julius Malema.
Image by: SIPHIWE SIBEKO / Reuters

ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema remains defiant despite facing possible expulsion from the ruling party - insisting that the charges against him were trumped up.

Malema argued in mitigation of his suspension from the party this week and called two ANC Youth League national executive committee members, Andile Lungisa and Abner Mosase, to defend him against the charges of which he was found guilty. These related to calling for regime change in Botswana and decrying the death of the African agenda since the departure of former president Thabo Mbeki.

The Sunday Times has learnt that Malema stood by his original argument that the comments he made on the two issues were not his personal views but positions adopted by the youth league's NEC.

Lungisa and Mosase backed this up and told the ANC's national disciplinary committee - headed by deputy science and technology minister Derek Hanekom - that it was the NEC that took these radical positions and Malema merely articulated a collective decision.

But on Thursday the prosecution is understood to have called for the expulsion of the youth leader, arguing that he had shown no remorse for his utterances and actions.

Malema, league secretary general Sindiso Magaqa and its spokesman Floyd Shivambu were found guilty of ill discipline and bringing the party into disrepute.

Malema was initially handed a five-year suspension, while Shivambu was suspended for three years for insulting a journalist.

Magaqa was given a three-year suspended sentence on condition that he apologised to Public Enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba for insulting him.

The three lost their appeals and were referred back to the NDC to argue in mitigation of their sentences.

Hanekom's committee wrapped up the hearings late Thursday night and is expected to announce the outcome this week.

But the youth league has come out in defence of Malema - vowing to retain him as president until his current term ends in 2014.

This has angered the motherbody. The party's secretary-general Gwede Mantashe told a Young Communist League gathering at Wits University on Thursday night that the league was bound by the ANC's decisions even though they thought such decisions to be "stupid and uninformed".

However, while there was a public show of support for Malema from the league's NEC, there was also strong lobbying by another faction, which is pushing for treasurer Pule Mabe and ambitious Eastern Cape secretary Ayanda Matiti to take over.

They are now awaiting Hanekom's announcement before pushing for a national general council which can elect people to the vacant positions.

"The support [for Malema] is temporary. Once he's out . that position by the [league's] NEC becomes useless. Comrades are ambitious [and] people will come out," said one NEC member.

For the Malema faction, retaining Ronald Lamola in his position as deputy president would keep them in control of the league.

Malema will address a youth league rally in Bushbuckridge today where he is expected to lash out at the ANC leadership and complain about the handling of his case.

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Malema stays defiant at mitigation hearing

For Commenters Consideration | Please stick to the subject matter

COMMENTS [24]

grant99

Posted 97 days ago
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If Malema was conveying the views of the NEC then they should all be fired. I hate the ANC as much as the next person but if they are paying the ANCYL salaries they should be able to call the shots. It's a case of the tail wagging the dog and they both stink.
It seems like just the other day that Malema was calling for Mbeki to be replaced by Zuma.
Something along the lines of, "We will carry Zuma on our shoulders to Union Buildings". It proves what former British prime minister said that a week is a very long time in politics.
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Timbuck5

Posted 96 days ago
Once a "DARLING" of the ANC.... now seen as the "VILLIAN"....

As you say, it IS a case of the TAIL WAGGING THE DOG!......

I doubt Malema ever write's his speeches down PRIOR top the event..... he just RAMBLES ON....N ON..... n ON.... and SPEWS ALL SORTS OF CRAPPOLA out for the masses to enjoy... he is actually seen as a COMEDIENNE by the masses.... not a political "Leada"..

Everyone has a good laugh and that is how it ends... excpet for Malema and Co... they THINK they have made INROADS....
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disillusionedstill

Posted 96 days ago
The ANC tribunal is as scary as anything threatened by Julius Malema - a well-spoken kangaroo court.

South Africa does not understand freedom of speech and thought and when the 'other side' is getting its message through loud and clear. the messenger is attacked.

Or maybe, even more dangerous for the fearsome, wounded.
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ArchAngelZerachiel

Posted 95 days ago
@disillusionedandbadlyinformed:
Your posts indicate a tendency of not wanting a free tenderpreneurship to end.

Just like MalEnema, ship number 66, your time is up!!!

alvonhumb

Posted 97 days ago
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Time for the SA Nation to scrape this cr@p off the bottom of our shoe and get on with life. SARS and SAP need to get involved. Young company will do Selebi good.
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disillusionedstill

Posted 96 days ago
Only problem is that the shoe is on the other foot now.

Get used to it, or emigrate!
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alvonhumb

Posted 96 days ago
Have to change the username to "yetmoredisillusioned" if this breed of kleptocrats manages to get the upper hand, especially if you haven't got the emigtation option.
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disillusionedstill

Posted 96 days ago
alvon

Maybe you have not noticed but the klepto's have already got 'the upper hand'.

Julius Malema has done nothing to you or the ANC except open his mouth.

And organise a few PW Botha style meeting break-ups for which he should be reprimanded.

Opening one's mouth can be countered by others also opening their mouths - this, in fact, is what separates us from alternatives such as throwing people out of high-rise windows or aircraft, beating people to a pulp, etc.

if you prefer the latter, rather emigrate.

If you favour the power of the pen, do not support the assault on someone who, like it or not, has the 'gift of the gab'.

the_original_MommaCyndi

Posted 96 days ago
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Dear Julius,

When you get to the bottom of the hole your mouth dug for you - shut up and stop digging.

Just passing on some valuable advice that I got.
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disillusionedstill

Posted 96 days ago
Sweetie,

Reminds me of how Mandela and every other leader who hit the nail on the head was demonised by the wh1te media cliches and Alice-in-Wonderlust fairytales.

Julius Malema's issues of Land, Labour and Capital are not going away.

Tough at the 'top' of the hole hey - you got the most to lose!
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the_original_MommaCyndi

Posted 96 days ago
disillusionedstill

???? I'm not sure which page you are on but the ANC is hardly the 'white media'. Perhaps I got it wrong but isn't it an ANC disciplinary hearing that he had ????

I got nothing to lose. No mining interests, no labour force, no land that cannot be instantly re-mortgaged ..... nope, sorry to disappoint but I have nothing at all to lose

frm.nobody

Posted 96 days ago
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ANC you have spoken and decided - now why are you still dragging your feet on this issue?? Get rid of your Monster already - What is wrong with you?

Timbuck5

Posted 96 days ago
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Everytime this PLUMPY fellow appears in the Media... he is FATTER than the last time...

Starting to look like a Taxi Boss... to many meals ahead... and to FEW visits to the Toilets!!!

Wonder if the Fat F UCK can see his toes?
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Bra-Beige

Posted 96 days ago
I see a major weight loss program coming up for Jube-Jube - an involuntary one of course.
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destroyer

Posted 96 days ago
YUP , REALLY LOOKING LIKE A BULLFROG ON STEROIDS!!! I SEE THE NOSTRILS ALSO LOOK BIGGER!!!!

THAT MUST BE FROM CHANGING IT'S MIND MANUALLY, FAR TO OFTEN!!!! :)

Hi--Jack

Posted 96 days ago
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"Malema, league secretary general Sindiso Magaqa and its spokesman Floyd Shivambu were found guilty of ill discipline ..."

Quite a validated sentence judging by his current behavior. He should do like Mbeki and bow out gracefully.....

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disillusionedstill

Posted 96 days ago
If you recall, one of Mbeki's bodyguards was murdered at the time.

That may have helped Mbeki apply a bit of discretion.

But, funny for someone like you seem to be, you are supporting your otherwise sworn enemy in a 'my enemy's enemy is my friend' type of manner.

Whose side you gonna be on next week?

mcritic

Posted 96 days ago
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Obviously according to Malema the charges is trumped up - because the man is dumb beyond description. He does not realize what he is talking about and his rantings are just screams of the idiot. That is why he is now saying that what he said was misunderstood by the ANC hierarchy - even he did not comprehend what he was saying.

Maybe - just maybe - it is the ANC's way of disposing of an embarrassment Malema and his cronies looted Limpopo and he ANC would like to see them geeting punished for following the example of the leader to the north of them. The final straw that broke the camel's back came when Malema took a bribe from Mugabe and started to do his dirty on Zuma and Khama.

Yes - taking into account the above - Malema was not tried for what he actually did - but then the dumb bunny fat fool should keep his mouth shut and not expose his idiocy on a continuous basis. That would have stopped the ANC in their tracks and deal with the Limpopo scandals on a different basis.

Stompie_se_Paai

Posted 96 days ago
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...agent Malema's 'used by date' has expired. His mission was to test the soil on the ANC's attempts at the nationalisation of all and everything in the private sector still operating in SA in order to cement the ANC's permanent stay at the trough ...which he did with blind vigour! Sadly for them, these experimental results, as we all know, proved disastrous for the corrupt ANC's Communistic future agenda ...and Malema keeps on rubbing salt into these wounds with his on and on going rantings.

Sadly the the slimy Jelly Tsotsi's total absence of common sense may land him in the morgue soon if he doesn't get the message soon and keep his putupap-hole shut!

Zimbabwe's Zanu ANC PF is looking for a new dictator ...maybe Malema should apply?!

RealAfricanDemocrat

Posted 96 days ago
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Julius malema is spot on but unfortunately those men and women on the NDC and NDCA are not interested in the facts, truth, fairness and justice but are hellbent on pursuing a factionalist political agenda to help Jacob Zuma win an undeserved second term, which if attained will continue to undermine the unity of the ANC and create further schisms. The facts are that Julius Malema spoke on behalf of the ANC Youth League National Executive Committee and the National Conference. The fact that he made a few comments here and there not reading from the press statement is neither here nor there. Not even senior ANC leaders (including Gwede Mantashe) stick to their press statements when they address the media.

As per design regardless of what he says, Malema's mitigation hearing is going to fail. Whereas Jacob Zuma won the ANC presidency by comparing himself to former President Mbeki, it is now a sin to compare the incumbent who is obviously out of his depth compared to the former president. It is clear that Jacob Zuma and Gwede Mantashe would like to have Julius Malema expelled from the ANC because they realise that he still commands a lot of support within the ANC. The idea is to strike the shepard and the sheep will scatter. They thus believe that they still have the time to manage the fall-out in the run-up to Mangaung.

The attack on Malema is coupled with other strategies and tactics. The decion to allow nominations by brnaches only in October is meant to allow Zuma factionalists to continue to campaign clandestinely and openly for a second term. In the meantime anyone who is opposed to a second term, will be subjected to disciplinary hearings and if in government like the Limpop Government, will be targeted by central government and placed under administration. On the other hand COSATU structures that are opposed to Zuma's challengers will be staging disingenuous and hypocritical marches that selectively target corruption in places where Jacob Zuma is not supported. In the meantime those who are identified as challengers to the second term will be intimidated through the media by giving the impression that they do not enjoy the support of the majority of ANC branches, and forced to withdraw from contestation. Within the ANC Youth League, ANC leaders routing for a second term, will continue to sow divisions and encourage mutiny against the Julius Malema-aligned leadership. In doing this, nothing will be spared, including lies, fabrications, half-truths and deliberate distortions. The idea ofcourse is to also use brown envelopes to induce journalists, particularly Black , to write stories which fit with their factionalist agenda and the second term objective.

Overall, in public, Jacob Zuma and Gwede Mantashe will be ruthless in dealing with those who are opposed to a second term, thus paralysing them through intimidation and fear. If the strategy works, Jacob Zuma and Gwede Mantashe win big in Mangaung and start purging those who are opposed to them. If it backfires, ANC branches are going to reclaim the organisation and bring in a new leadership which will reverse the undemocratic tendencies and practices we have seen being introduced by the Zumantashe dictatorship.

Unfortunately if Jacob Zuma wins a second various democratic institutions are going to be targeted, but in particular the judiciary and Constitutional Court which Jacob Zuma sees as a nuisance. The next government after Jacob Zuma's second term, if the project succeeds, will be a pure SACP government led by Blade Nzimande and Gwede Mantashe, and will do away with African nationalism and introduce communism, and a dictatorship of the proletariat. Unfortunately the ANC National Executive Committe and National Working Committee have been reduced to Jacob Zuma's personal tools. Members have in general committed intellectual suicide for the sake of political survival and even though some are opposed to what is going on are not even prepared to raise their heads above the parapet. when we hear men like Free State Premier Ace Magashule say the Zuma leadership is 100% right, then we know that senior ANC members have suspended their mental faculties. It will take extremely bold members of the ANC NEC like Fikile Mbalula wo may have to resign his position in government to focus on the campaign to counter the second termers. But the likes of Trevor Manuel and Cyril Ramaphosa, who parade themselves as the face of reason, will continue to blow with the wind, with absolutely no regard for the interests of the ANC and the country. The ANC Youth League and Fikile Mbalula can still win the game handsomely as long as they have dedicated foot-soldiers in KZN, Eastern Cape and around the country.
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disillusionedstill

Posted 96 days ago
Thank goodness we have media freedom which enables all of us to put our points of view (most of the commentators here do not know that the apartheid government did not allow even editors this freedom).

Be that as it may, your argument makes sense but it is 'ahead of the game'.

My simple view of the immediate issue is that freedom to think and speak is under threat.

Why can the ANC (Zille is incapable) counter the youth league with a valid counter-argument?

The main thrust of the league's issues are (even Clem Sunter agrees the issues) valid, period.

The method is open to debate but where the fear lies, is that the capitalist system as it stands (we have a mixed economy already, albeit skewed) does not have the solutions, also period.

Have a good week.

stub_born

Posted 96 days ago
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......Malema is not dumb......He is a clever opportunist at the short end of the stick.....because it is happening to him, he claims of injustice and prejudice. If anyone else in exactly the same circumstances as him and with the same deeds done, and more if he/she were a potential competition to his greed and haughtiness, Malema and the rest of hyenas from the Youth Fleague would be claiming for his/her head..........

His stupidity, also fueled by his arrogance made him to commit the worst of the sins: overtly challenge Showara Zuma......
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Stompie_se_Paai

Posted 96 days ago

"......Malema is not dumb......" , "His (Malema's?) stupidity...", all in one comment.

Makes sense in a weird way ...like baboons, regardless the number in the crate, the intelligence level remains the same. No matter how they scheme, the complete ANC-bunch and their supporters will remain corrupt with hidden agendas on Communism with the primary goal to self-enrich ...mainly by robbing the poor ...and the country's dwindling White citizens, of course!

alvonhumb

Posted 96 days ago
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MMmm.... in depth nd thoughtful analysis, but either Zuma or Malema? God (or whatver your alternative) help SA.