Malema's home besieged
2012-04-21 21:01
Johannesburg - Julius Malema's home neighbourhood was besieged by delegates of the ANCYL provincial elective conference being held in Polokwane late on Saturday afternoon, SABC radio reported.
About 400 members gathered in the street outside Malema's home singing struggle songs in support of the suspended Youth League president.
According to the conditions of his suspension, Malema was not permitted to attend the league's provincial elective conference.
It appeared that as Malema could not come to the conference, the delegates decided to bring the conference to Malema.
Malema, who is also a member of the league's Limpopo executive committee, was expelled from the ANC in November last year for sowing divisions within 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 his predecessor Thabo Mbeki, and for remarks about regime change in Botswana.
Despite the expulsion Malema remained the youth wing's leader until all options to overturn his sentence were exhausted.
He was gagged earlier this month when the ANC's national disciplinary committee suspended him from the party after he called Zuma a dictator.
The conditions of the suspension prohibited him from exercising any duty as an ANC member, president of the ANCYL or member of the province's executive committee.
New leadership
The African National Congress Youth League were expected to elect a new Limpopo leadership at the conference on Saturday, SABC radio reported earlier.
Provincial chair Frans Moswane warned that action would be taken against ill disciplined members.
He was referring to some league members holding a parallel conference in Seshego.
Involved in that conference were members from various branches who accused the Limpopo leadership of not listening to their concerns.
Moswane told the broadcaster there was only one legitimate conference taking place in the province, which was in Polokwane.
Boy Mamabolo, the Seshego conference organiser, said it planned on electing a new "preferred" provincial leadership.
The Seshego conference was being held less than a kilometre away from Malema's home.
On Friday, some league members were kept out of the Polokwane conference registration, which was guarded by police and traffic officers.
- SAPA
