Babalo Ndenze and Piet Rampedi
EXPELLED ANC Youth League president Julius Malema seems to have fallen out with his former deputy, Ronald Lamola, with moves afoot to install Malema ally and national executive committee member Abner Mosase as acting president.
Malema’s allies were working behind the scenes to install Masase at the expense of Lamola, sources said.
They said the move by Malema’s supporters came after he fell out with Lamola over the latter’s decision to attend a recent ANC national executive committee lekgotla in his capacity as acting president, despite the pair’s agreeing that Lamola would not act in Malema’s former position.
The youth league was also quick to deny that it had to postpone a press briefing following its weekend national executive committee meeting because of internal disputes over leadership.
The press briefing was to have been held at Luthuli House at noon yesterday on the outcomes of the NEC meeting of the youth league, but was postponed until further notice.
Masase, though, said he was not aware of any plans to have him made acting president at the expense of Lamola, saying the postponement could not be avoided.
He has been thrust into the spotlight in recent weeks and represented the league in a TV debate on the Limpopo textbook saga.
Two youth league sources said Malema’s allies, led by former National Youth Development Agency chairman Andile Lungisa, also wanted the former youth leader’s confidant, ANCYL Limpopo secretary Jacob Lebogo, to take over as acting secretary-general.
Malema and Lamola are said to have agreed that Malema’s position would not be filled after his sacking to show the league did not support the appeal committee’s decision.
A source said Lungisa had criss-crossed the country lobbying the league’s NEC members to support Masase and Lebogo.
“They are demanding an urgent NEC meeting. They want Abner Mosase as acting president and they want Kenetswe Mosenogi (ANCYL deputy secretary-general) out. They also want Lebogo acting secretary and Andile Lungisa is leading that process,” said the source.
Youth league spokeswoman Khusela Sangoni-Khawe said the issue had not come up at the weekend and that the “faceless and nameless” members were merely sowing divisions.
“The NEC conducted its business. On the first day we had political discussions around issues like Marikana, the Boeremag trial and youth employment. Those sorts of discussions. On the second day we discussed the state of the organisation and reports from provinces and their preparations towards Mangaung,” said Sangoni-Khawe.
Lamola could not be reached for comment.