He said the ANC president was a "questionable leader" and a laughing stock internationally.

Delivering a lecture on former president Nelson Mandela at a packed Cape Peninsula University of Technology lecture hall yesterday, Malema said Zuma, who is a polygamist, undermined the rights of women.

"This thing of marrying so many women should be questioned in a society where we seek to create a gender-equal society. If a man can marry four [wives], it means that even a woman should be allowed to do the same," said Malema.

Sporting a black beret with a y outh l eague logo , Malema accused Zuma of hiding behind his culture .

ANC icon Winnie Madikizela Mandela recently joined the bandwagon, questioning Zuma' s marital choic es.

But Zuma this week brushed off the criticism, saying it was "not wise to discuss personal things unless those things impact on what you do".

But Malema slated Zuma, saying he was "bombarding" South Africa with his "culture", and had gotten married "every December".

He said Mandela, who is of royal lineage, had never used his culture to define his leadership.

"When he assumed the position of president, he knew that the unity of the country was more important than the promotion of his culture.

"He knew that he was no longer a chief ... he was the president of all cultures, and not of his tribe," said Malema.

He again questioned why Zuma avoided court to answer to charges of corruption for which his former financial adviser, Schabir Schaik, was jailed.

Malema said the tapes used by the National Prosecuting Authority to drop charges against Zuma back in 2009 did not exist.

He said if they did, they should be released to DA leader Helen Zille, who has won a Supreme Court of Appeal case compelling the authority to release the tapes to the DA.

Malema further claimed that the dropping of charges against Zuma on the eve of the 2009 elections was as a result of pressure applied on the NPA.

Drawing comparisons with Zuma's peers, Malema said that when Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe's partner, Gugu Mtshali, was accused of corruption, Motlanthe had called for an investigation by the public protector into the allegations.

"That's statesmanship, that's being honourable, that is being a man who takes the office of the president very seriously," said Malema.

The youth league wants Motlanthe to replace Zuma at the ruling party's elective conference in Mangaung, Free State, in December.