African National Congress Youth League


The African National Congress Youth League is the youth wing of the African National Congress. As set out in its constitution the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee and a National Working Committee.

Foundation

Its foundation in 1944 by A. P. Mda, Anton Lembede, Mxolisi Majombozi, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo marked the rise of a new generation of leaders. The first President of the league was Anton Lembede who shaped its militancy. Mandela wrote that Lembede had a "magnetic personality who thought in original and often startling ways" and "Like Lembede I came to see the antidote as militant African nationalism. Lembede died in 1947.
By the end of the 1940s, the Youth League had gained control of the African National Congress. It called for civil disobedience and strikes in protest at the hundreds of laws associated with the new apartheid system. These protests were often met with force by the South African Government. In 1950, 18 blacks were killed during a walkout, while protesters, including Mandela, were jailed and beaten for their opposition to the government.
Thabo Mbeki became active in the Youth League in 1956 and was expelled from high school in 1959 as a result of participation in a strike. In 1959 many ANCYL members broke away to form the rival Pan Africanist Congress. In 1960, the PAC, ANC and its associated organisations had been banned. Mbeki organised a stay-at-home in protest at the South African Government's decision to leave the Commonwealth of Nations before leaving South Africa at the suggestion of the ANC.
The Youth League continued its activities underground during the remainder of the apartheid years. In 1990, F. W. de Klerk legalised the ANC and its associated organisations including the Youth League, and Peter Mokaba led the newly unbanned Youth League.
In 2005, Fikile Mbalula became president of the league. Mbalula succeeded the student activist Malusi Gigaba, who went on to become deputy minister of home affairs. Mbalula had served as secretary general of the ANCYL under Gigaba's leadership. It was under Mbalula's leadership that the ANCYL took on a more visible role in defending Jacob Zuma, and publicly lobbying for his election as ANC president.
The election of Julius Malema in April 2008 was initially disputed after a bitterly contested election with Saki Mofokeng.
In November 2011, Julius Malema was found guilty of provoking divisions within the ruling party and of bringing the organisation into disrepute, and was suspended for five years. Subsequent appeal processes changed the suspension to expulsion. On 24 April 2012 the appeal process ended when the National Disciplinary Committee of Appeal confirmed Malema's expulsion with immediate effect. The appeal committee also confirmed league spokesperson Floyd Shivambu's three-year suspension and suspended secretary general Sindiso Magaqa for one year, reducing the original disciplinary committee's three year suspension.

Leaders

Past leaders of the ANCYL include:

Support for Jacob Zuma

The Youth League generated significant controversy in 2008 when its president publicly declared its willingness to use violence to prevent Jacob Zuma's being prosecuted for corruption charges, stating that the Youth League was "prepared to take up arms and kill for Zuma". In further remarks, Julius Malema has called for the elimination of so-called "counter-revolutionary" forces, which include the largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance. These statements have drawn significant public criticism, and the ANC has on occasion distanced itself from Malema's remarks. Further statements made against the DA's leader in 2009, stating that they were "disgusted by remarks attributed to Helen Zille." These statements were in response to a statement by Zille that "Zuma is a self-confessed womaniser with deeply sexist views, who put all his wives at risk by having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman." The ANC Youth League has been widely criticized for these statements, and has thus far been unable to explain their meaning, including during appearances on Talk Radio 702, a national radio station. The spokesperson, Floyd Shivambu kept on saying that their meaning of sleeping around is: "sleeping around". He was unable to clarify whether sleeping around means having sex or not having sex.
On 17 March 2013 the ANC National Executive disbanded the ANCYL's National Executive Committee, a move that was widely seen to be a purging of opponents of Jacob Zuma.

Julius Malema and "Kill the Boer"

In 2010 Julius Malema sang a controversial apartheid struggle song "Shoot the Boer", which drew further criticism in light of the numerous killings of white farmers and black labourers across South Africa. The South African Equality Court ruled that the song motivated genocide and was thus declared hate speech and interdict for its singing in public and private meetings, was issued. The ANCYL stated that they are willing to contest the judgement in the Constitutional Court.
In November 2011 ANC Youth League president Julius Malema was suspended from the ruling party for two years, this sanction was suspended for three years. The finding and penalty relate to Malema, ANCYL deputy president Ronald Lamola, treasurer general Pule Mabe, secretary general Sindiso Magaqa and deputy secretary general Kenetswe Mosenogi. The youth league leaders were charged for bringing the party into disrepute after saying earlier this year that the ANCYL would send a team to Botswana to consolidate local opposition parties and help bring about regime change there.
Following that finding, Julius Malema was found guilty of provoking divisions within the ruling party and of bringing the organisation into disrepute. As a result, ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema had to "vacate his position".

Hacking of official website

On 30 March 2011, the ANC Youth League's website was hacked with a fake post under its news section, "Latest ANCYL News". The post's headline, "Julius Malema to Step Down as Youth League President" was posted as a statement by Julius Malema tendering his resignation because he had "made a fool of himself." Some reasons were listed for his resignation: "I have brought my party the ANC into disrepute ; I have disrespected my elders and have made a fool out of myself; I promote my own agenda over my country and parties; I promote the singing of racist songs to promote violence and unrest in the country."
On 13 June 2011, the ANC Youth League's website was hacked again, this time with a fake post under its news section, "Julius Malema defects to Cope". A subsequent hack on 24 July 2011, placed a banner at the top of the home page with the statement, "HA HA HA I have a 16 Million Rand house And all of you dont!!!!", in reference to allegations in media that Julius Malema was building himself a R16 million house in the elite Johannesburg suburb of Sandton. This was followed the next day, 25 July 2011, by another hack superimposing the faces of Julius Malema and Jacob Zuma, the President of the African National Congress and South Africa, on the poster for the movie Dumb & Dumber.