Durban - ANC Youth League president Julius Malema has been accused of changing the youth wing’s constitution to discredit the findings of a disciplinary hearing.
Malema and his friends have fabricated amendments of the constitution. This has been done to save Malema’s political career, said Mthandeni Dlungwane, a member of the KwaZulu-Natal African National Congress Youth League's disbanded executive.
Addressing the media after he was suspended, Malema said the national disciplinary committee relied on an old constitution of the league, which stated that ANC discipline applied to the league.
He said the constitution was amended at the league’s conference in June, which meant that the sentence from the ANC was not binding on its leaders.
But the members of disbanded provincial executive committee told reporters in Durban on Sunday that the amendments were fabricated and they want the ANC to investigate the matter.
The provincial executive committee was disbanded by the Malema led ANCYL for mobilising members to defy the decisions of the national executive.
Members of the disbanded provincial executive still regard themselves as the ruling party’s youth wing leaders in KwaZulu-Natal despite the fact that the provincial task team was appointed to replace them.
The disbanded committee said the constitution amendments made during the ANCYL congress in June were adopted during the national executive meeting in July.
The amendments we see now are not the ones we know. Malema and his friends can’t just change the constitution, said Sboniso Duma, a former member of the disbanded executive.
He said members of the disbanded executive committee viewed the fabrication of amendments as equivalent to treason. The changes to constitution had been manipulated as part of discrediting the findings of the national disciplinary hearing.
Malema, league spokesman Floyd Shivambu, deputy president Ronald Lamola, treasurer general Pule Mabe, secretary general Sindiso Magaqa and deputy secretary general Kenetswe Mosenogi were sanctioned by the NDC last Thursday.
Malema was given a five-year suspension and told to vacate his position as president and Shivambu was suspended for three years and also told to vacate.
The other four leaders all had their youth league membership suspended for two years. This sanction was suspended for three years. - Sapa