'Hooligan Malema is a fraud'

The disbanded executive committee of the ANC Youth League in KwaZulu-Natal has called Julius Malema a "thug and hooligan", alleging that he changed the league's constitution to "save his political career".

Suspended committee chairman Mthandeni Dlungwane yesterday said Malema and "his friends" fabricated amendments to the constitution to rubbish the findings of the ANC national disciplinary committee chaired by Derek Hanekom.

Malema said last week that the committee relied on the league's old constitution, which stated that ANC discipline applied to its youth wing.

He said the constitution was amended at the league's conference in June, which meant the sentence imposed by Hanekom on him and other league leaders was not binding.

"The amendments we see now are not the ones we know. Malema and his friends can't just change the constitution and we fold our arms," Dlungwane said.

He said the unlawful amendment was equivalent to treason.

"The [youth league] is being led by thugs and hooligans who want to pull us into the dark forest.

"We ask the ANC to investigate these manipulations of the constitution to suit those who want to remain leaders."

Suspended deputy secretary Siboniso Duma said he was present at the meeting in June at which the disputed amendments were made.

"The amendments that we are seeing now were not put in June. These have just been made up now," he said.

But youth league secretary-general Sandiso Magaqa, the custodian of the constitution, insisted that the amendments were made and voted in by delegates in June.

"We were surprised when the disciplinary committee chairman, Hanekom, quoted from the league's old constitution during the verdicts," he said.

Magaqa said Malema and his suspended executive "do not care about what is being said about the amendments".

"We know that there are rented agents seeking to cause havoc in the ANC ahead of the elective conference. We cannot explain ourselves to anyone more than that. People can talk until they become blue in the face but we remain resolute on the issue," he said.

Malema and Magaqa, and the league's deputy president Ronald Lamola, treasurer-general Pule Mabe, deputy secretary-general Kenetswe Mosenogi, and spokesman Floyd Shivambu were sanctioned by the ANC national disciplinary committee two weeks ago.

Malema was given a five-year suspension and told to vacate his position as president. Shivambu was suspended for three years and also told to quit.

The other four leaders had their youth league membership suspended for two years. This sanction was suspended for three years.