Malema: Cosatu respects ANC decision

2012-04-25 11:01

Johannesburg - The Congress of SA Trade Unions accepts the expulsion of ANCYL president Julius Malema from its alliance partner the ANC, spokesperson Patrick Craven said on Wednesday.

"As we have said before ... we accept and respect the decisions of the ANC disciplinary procedures and we feel it would not be right to comment," said Craven when asked for Cosatu's response on the announcement on Tuesday night of Malema's expulsion.

"Each component of the alliance has its own rules and procedures and we respect those and we would not like to comment on them."

Cosatu, the ANC and the SA Communist Party traditionally support each other on core development issues and usually form a united front ahead of elections.

'Not our business'

Cosatu has previously said "it's not our business" when asked to comment on Malema's troubles with the ANC.

They did however come out last year and say that finding him guilty of hate speech for singing "dubhula ibhunu" (shoot the boer) was a gross insult to the country's past, when the Equality Court in Johannesburg ruled against him.

They have also issued a statement condemning the behaviour of people who burnt ANC T-shirts and rioted in downtown Johannesburg when Malema's disciplinary hearing first began last year.

Malema has often vocalised many of Cosatu's points on protecting the poor, and recently joined Cosatu's massive protest in Johannesburg against e-tolling.

On Tuesday the party's national disciplinary committee of appeal (NDCA) expelled Malema and suspended spokesperson Floyd Shivambu's membership for three years.

General secretary of the league Sindiso Magaqa had his sentence of suspension reduced from three years to one year.

Malema was originally suspended for five years for sowing division in the party and for bringing it into disrepute.

He was found to have done so by unfavourably comparing the leadership style of President Jacob Zuma to that of former president Thabo Mbeki, and for remarks on bringing about regime change in Botswana.

On February 29 the NDC announced that the sanction against him was being increased to one of expulsion.

He again appealed and it was this appeal that the NDCA dismissed on Tuesday.

Shivambu was found guilty of sowing division and bringing the ANC into disrepute. He was suspended from the ANC for three years for swearing at a journalist and for issuing a statement calling for a change of government in Botswana.

Magaqa was punished for making derogatory remarks about Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba. Initially, his suspension was contingent on him apologising to Gigaba within 15 days. Magaqa apologised to Gigaba in a statement sent to the media on March 10.

- SAPA