Louise McAuliffe
The ANC youth league says its president Julius Malema will not face disciplinary action personally - the league will bear the brunt of any disciplinary action over Malema’s utterances.
Vuyiswa Tulelo, secretary general for the ANCYL, told a media briefing at Luthuli House today that Malema did not say or do anything in his personal capacity as Julius Malema.
"He did that as the president of the ANCYL, and that is why the ANCYL had to respond, and say we are sorry for our behaviour.
"We must understand that Malema did not wake up and say that today my mission is going to be insulting one journalist to the next. He did not wake up that way.
"So the ANC Youth League has apologised for that thing that has caused and unsettlement in the South African society.
"In this engagement the ANCYL has now said - because it is us who have done this wrong, we have to take collective responsibility.
"Julius is a member of the ANCYL in his own right. When the ANC engages with him as a member of the ANCYL, as himself, in the disciplinary processes, he has made it abundantly clear that he will succumb to the discipline of the ANC.
"We have realised that sometimes our utterances, in our youth, when you say things that agitate us, the English finishes and we look for the easiest thing to say.
"The ANC has (however) reminded us, that at all times we must remember who we represent, and in so doing we must always carry ourselves in a manner that will reinforce the values and the principles of the organisation that we represent," said Tulelo.
Charges have not been finalised with regards to what will be included in the disciplinary process.
"The ANC has preferred charges against the ANC Youth League President, Comrade Julius Malema. In this regard, we would like to restate that the issue of discipline in the ANC belongs to the structure of the ANC and are therefore not matters of the public or the media," said Thandi Modise, Deputy Secretary General of the ANC.
"ANC officials will discuss issues of discipline of all members internally and will not engage on internal matters with the media".
No timeline was supplied with regards to how long the disciplinary process will take to be finalised in this matter.
Sowetan
