ANC is reaping what it's sown

THE nation is waiting with bated breath to see the outcome of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) leadership's disciplinary hearing

 The ANC has charged the leadership for bringing the party into disrepute with its Botswana takeover plan.

The pertinent question is: Will the ANC discipline Malema and his lieutenant if found guilty? The leadership will be damned if it doesn't, and damned if it does. This will be a litmus test for the Jacob Zuma leadership.

There is a school of thought that Malema was charged for political reasons, not for bringing the party into disrepute. The move is seen as a power struggle ahead of the Mangaung elective conference next year.

The ruling party should shoulder responsibility for what Malema has become.

The ANCYL leader was allowed to deliberately step on others' toes with impunity. He was - and still is - at liberty to disrespect adults and call them names. Juju once called DA leader Helen Zille a "racist girl". He labelled Naledi Pandor's accent as "fake".

There are many others who were victims of his loose tongue. In most accounts, he got away with murder.

Now Juju has turned against the leadership he's fiercely supported to be in power. The struggle for power within the ANC has begun.

The ruling party is reaping what it has sown. It should have nipped the cancer in the bud.

Thabile Mange, Johannesburg