The aftermath of the news that the ANC NDC has decided to expel Julius Malema from the ANC has been met with a heavy sense of ambivalence, depending on which side you stand in the unfolding political developments in the country. Understandably, those who pledged their undying love and loyalty for Julius Malema came up guns blazing in defence of their leader.
Some of the Eastern Cape YL leaders even took it further by threatening a youth violent revolt against the ANC NDC decision. In Limpopo things took a violent turn with clashes between the supporters of Julius and those gatvol with his leadership. The whole fury and excitement was expected in a sense, given the military and dictatorial posture that Julius has adopted over the years.
On Sunday 4th of March 2012, the ANCYL leadership convened a Special NEC meeting in response to these developments. On Monday 05 of March the ANCYL leadership convened a media briefing that effectively rejected the outcomes of the ANC NDC process. The reason for this rejection was said to be that the ANC NDC instituted a disciplinary process on the basis of politically motivated charges against the leadership of the ANCYL, thus persecuting them.
Accordingly, this, if it were true, should effectively nullify the entire disciplinary process because the constitution of the ANC clearly rejects any disciplinary process instituted to settle political scores. But well, things do not always turn out the way we wish. Or do they?
Surprisingly, in the same media briefing the ANCYL leadership also indicated that they will appeal the sentence meted by the ANC NDC against Julius and other leaders. This, in my view, stands in direct contrast to their earlier rejection of the entire NDC process given political motives behind it. Why then appeal a sentence of a politically motivated NDC process that you do not recognise is baffling to say the least.
In my view the leadership of the ANCYL squandered an important opportunity as they met on the 04th of March to consider the expulsion of Julius from the ANC. This special NEC meeting to me should have been used frankly to analyse not only the political forces aligned against the ANCYL, but to also pin-point areas where we might have committed mistakes and be ready to acknowledge these. Where we were wrong as the ANCYL, the ANCYL NEC collective should have admitted that to the ANC and the public in general.