While the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) gathered legal experts on Thursday night in an attempt to quash Jacob Zuma's looming corruption case, the organisation warns that they will remove the ruling party president if he fails to "live up to expectations".
The league's Secretary-General Vuyiswa Tulelo said that just as they had removed President Thabo Mbeki as head of the party at the December conference at Polokwane, they would also oust Zuma if necessary.
"If he (Zuma) fails to do that, then like with all the others that we have done before, we will go to his doorstep and say, 'Tata (father) we think you have done enough, the time has come for you to move on'."
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Meanwhile, the controversial Youth League President Julius Malema said the league would seek legal opinion last night on how to have the Zuma corruption case struck off the roll.
"What we said is that we support the president of the ANC and we are going to do everything in our power to ensure that the president gets a free and fair trial," he said.
Malema said that while the league upheld the legal principles enshrined in the Constitution and respected the judiciary and other organs of state - the organisation would equally defend those institutions against abuse by "elements with narrow political agendas".
"Our unambiguous support for the ANC president in relation to his upcoming trial is informed by these and other related principles as meticulously articulated both in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act and the Bill of Rights," he said.
He said the "conditions for a fair trial for the ANC president do not exist".
On his die and kill for Zuma statement, Malema on Thursday argued that his words had been taken out of context and blown out of proportion, but refused to apologise.
"We have noted the distortion, misinterpretation, vulgar insults and defamatory comments, which have been hailed against the ANCYL and its president.
"It is our firm view that the statement has been blown out of proportion with a clear malicious intent and consequence," he said, reading a statement.
Malema argued that it was in this "political context and ambiance" rather than in the literal sense that his comments were made.
"There is great danger, when one takes political statements and expression out of context, or without clarity of context in which they were made," he said.
- This article was originally published on page 3 of Daily News on June 20, 2008
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