ANCYL ordered to be on its best behaviour at Kathrada memorial

The ANC Youth League will be allowed to attend a memorial for Ahmed Kathrada in Durban‚ but must be on its best behaviour.

The league‚ a vocal critic of axed finance minister Pravin Gordhan‚ will be forced to toe the line after a civic body obtained a high court order interdicting them from disrupting a memorial service of struggle stalwart Kathrada‚ to be held on Sunday. The urgent application came before Durban high court Judge Rashid Vahed on Friday afternoon‚ brought by the Durban-based Active Citizens Movement‚ and spilled over until Saturday.

It wanted the Youth League to be barred from coming within 200m of the memorial venue. The citizens’ movement has arranged a memorial service to take place at Sastri College on Sunday afternoon to honour Kathrada.

After hearing argument on Saturday‚ Vahed made an order interdicting the league and its members from disrupting the memorial or “removing any of the speakers”. This point in the notice of motion is understood to concern Gordhan‚ who has been billed to deliver an address at the memorial.

The interdict hinged on prior events in which the league and its members had reacted strongly to any criticism of President Jacob Zuma. Vahed also ordered that the ANCYL issue press statements which encompassed the terms of the order‚ as well as post the statement on their social media platforms so that their members could be informed.

ANCYL provincial secretary Thanduxolo Sabelo claimed the ruling as a victory for the league and said members would be at the memorial in droves.

"Following the case by PG [Pravin Gordhan] and friends‚ the High Court has ruled in favour of the ANCYL and members of the ANCYL may attend the memorial service of Ahmed Kathrada. We will be there in our numbers‚" he said.

- TMG Digital/TimesLIVE