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Defiant ANC youth league still backs ousted Juju

"We will continue to treat him as our president"

MEMBERS of the ANC Youth League have defied the decision by the party's national disciplinary committee to expel their president, Julius Malema, saying he will remain their leader until 2014 when his term expires.

The ANCYL in Limpopo, Free State and Western Cape yesterday came out in support of Malema, the league's spokesman Floyd Shivambu and secretary Sindiso Magaqa.

The youth league treasurer in Limpopo, Rudzani Ludere, said only the league's members can decide on the future of their leaders "through internal processes".

"We wish to state that the NDC's decision to expel the ANCYL president ... is unacceptable to the youth league of Limpopo," Ludere said.

He said the (disciplinary) process was politically motivated and meant to resolve political battles within the ANC.

"We are aware that there are some people in the ANC who believe that by removing certain leaders of the ANCYL they will be able to successfully suppress and undermine political and ideological struggles of the league."

Malema's lieutenant in the province, Jacob Lebogo, also condemned the behaviour of the anti-Malema faction in Limpopo, describing them as "hired thugs".

Meanwhile, the ANCYL in Free State also rallied behind Malema.

Provincial secretary Lebogang Magoera said they were disappointed that they only learnt of the outcome through the media.

"The fact that the ANC had refused to engage with us was a clear indication that they wanted to isolate Malema. But we will continue to treat him as our president and we have lined him up to address our March 11 event here in the Free State," said Magoera.

Senzeni Mphila, convener of the task team that runs the youth league in Western Cape, slammed the NDC that expelled Malema as flawed.

"We respect processes of the ANC, however this particular process is informed by a political agenda, by people who are mischievous and who want to reach a certain agenda by removing certain individuals within the youth league," he said.

He said their reasoning was based on the fact that Malema and his co-accused were only allowed to argue in mitigation after the NDC had handed down its sentence.

"You don't mitigate after the sentence, you mitigate before. Technically it means that that particular disciplinary hearing was supposed to start afresh," he said.

The NDC expelled Malema after finding him guilty of sowing divisions within the ANC and bringing the party into disrepute.

Shivambu and Magaqa were each suspended for three years with the latter getting a suspended sentence.

Malema's supporters clashed with his rivals at his home town of Seshego on Wednesday night after the announcement was made public by the ANC's NDC.

The fight got out of hand when the anti-Malema group reached the gate of the house where his grandmother lives in the Masakaneng section of the township.

The situation became volatile as shots were fired and stones thrown at each of the warring groups.

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