THE show of force and support for ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema yesterday has taken the leadership battle within the ANC to an unprecedented level.
Unruly Malema supporters had running battles with the police in the streets of Johannesburg yesterday as they tried to storm the ANC headquarters Luthuli House, where the youth leader was facing the ruling party's disciplinary committee.
Reminiscent of the rape trial against Jacob Zuma - where his supporters burnt T-shirts with the face of then ANC president Thabo Mbeki - Malema's supporters burnt T-shirts bearing Zuma's face.
Just like in the case of Zuma, who accused Mbeki of unfairly targeting the man who was seen as his challenger to the ANC's presidency, Malema's supporters have accused the ANC leaders (especially Zuma) and see the disciplinary action against their leader as a move to politically marginalise him.
Malema has recently made several public statements seen as an affront on Zuma's leadership. This includes his statement that Mbeki was the best ANC leader ever, as well as his claim that the ANC was "led by cowards".
This was after Zuma shot down Malema's call for the ANC to discuss the ongoing racism in the country.
To Zuma and his supporters, the ANCYL call for the nationalisation of mines, publicly driven by Malema, is also seen as a ploy to unseat Zuma at the party's Mangaung elective conference next year.
It is in this context that the heightened tensions between the ANC and its young lions must be understood. What is of public concern is how both parties are using the same tactics against each other that they used to unseat Mbeki - where the end justified the means.
It is common knowledge that Malema and his youth league leadership coterie have not acquitted themselves in a manner expected of them as youth leaders.
Many are the cases where Malema has insulted individuals within and without the ANC with impunity. All these happened in the name of a youth that is expected to be radical and challenging politicalconservatism.
What we now see is a situation where political contests within the ANC are dealt with in a manner that actually undermines the integrity of one of Africa's leading liberation movements.
During the 2007 Polokwane conference the ANC saw the ANCYL as part of the "winds of change that blew Mbeki away".
Unfortunately, the party is now reaping the whirlwind.
ANC reaps its harvest
THE show of force and support for ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema yesterday has taken the leadership battle within the ANC to an unprecedented level.
Unruly Malema supporters had running battles with the police in the streets of Johannesburg yesterday as they tried to storm the ANC headquarters Luthuli House, where the youth leader was facing the ruling party's disciplinary committee.
Reminiscent of the rape trial against Jacob Zuma - where his supporters burnt T-shirts with the face of then ANC president Thabo Mbeki - Malema's supporters burnt T-shirts bearing Zuma's face.
Just like in the case of Zuma, who accused Mbeki of unfairly targeting the man who was seen as his challenger to the ANC's presidency, Malema's supporters have accused the ANC leaders (especially Zuma) and see the disciplinary action against their leader as a move to politically marginalise him.
Malema has recently made several public statements seen as an affront on Zuma's leadership. This includes his statement that Mbeki was the best ANC leader ever, as well as his claim that the ANC was "led by cowards".
This was after Zuma shot down Malema's call for the ANC to discuss the ongoing racism in the country.
To Zuma and his supporters, the ANCYL call for the nationalisation of mines, publicly driven by Malema, is also seen as a ploy to unseat Zuma at the party's Mangaung elective conference next year.
It is in this context that the heightened tensions between the ANC and its young lions must be understood. What is of public concern is how both parties are using the same tactics against each other that they used to unseat Mbeki - where the end justified the means.
It is common knowledge that Malema and his youth league leadership coterie have not acquitted themselves in a manner expected of them as youth leaders.
Many are the cases where Malema has insulted individuals within and without the ANC with impunity. All these happened in the name of a youth that is expected to be radical and challenging politicalconservatism.
What we now see is a situation where political contests within the ANC are dealt with in a manner that actually undermines the integrity of one of Africa's leading liberation movements.
During the 2007 Polokwane conference the ANC saw the ANCYL as part of the "winds of change that blew Mbeki away".
Unfortunately, the party is now reaping the whirlwind.
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