Saturday Star
*Rivals target 'disrespectful' Julius* /Court battles loom after bitter fight for control of Youth League/ *Sibusiso Ngalwa, Saturday Star, Johannesburg, 3 July 2010*Julius Malema is a disrespectful delinquent who has lost the support of the ANC Youth League's structures, and a bully and embarrassment who abuses the league's processes to flush out opponents.
This is the view of Malema's opponents, who have dragged him to court after a bitter fight for the control of the youth league ahead of the organisation's conference next year, which is likely to see the feared Malema being challenged.
Malema's leadership will spend the next week in and out of court in at least two provinces after frustrated league leaders challenged his authority.
But Malema's supporters have vowed to fight fire with fire, threatening the "stray elements" that they will account for their "alien" and "unacceptable" action.
The Johannesburg High Court yesterday postponed the hearing of an urgent application by disputed Limpopo youth leader Lehlogonolo Masoga against his pending expulsion from the league.
Masoga went to court after a disciplinary committee recommended that he be expelled for bringing the organisation into disrepute.
This relates to the chaotic youth league provincial conference in Limpopo in April, where anti-Malema delegates were chased away by the police, using water canons and rubber bullets - apparently on Malema's orders.
The matter will return to court on July 13.On Thursday, the league's disbanded Eastern Cape's provincial executive committee (PEC) - led by provincial chairman Mlibo Qoboshiyana - filed an urgent application at the Grahamstown High Court.
The matter will be heard on Wednesday. The PEC wants the court to reverse the league's national working committee (NWC) decision to disband the structure.
Also, the PEC wants the court to stop a planned provincial conference from taking place next weekend, while the dispute between the Malema-controlled NWC and the PEC has not been resolved by the mother-body.
In his affidavit, Qoboshiyana is scathing of Malema, who, he says, has lost the support of the majority of the PEC.
"Malema has, through his conduct, embarrassed... certainly most of the members of PEC, the league, the ANC and members of the broader South African society," said Qoboshiyana.
He said the NWC's conduct was "geared to secure the election of a PEC that will support Malema in his attempt to be elected for a second term as president".
At the heart of the ructions within the youth league is the battle for the organisation's presidency between Malema and his deputy Andile Lungisa.
The youth league will hold a national congress in April next year, where Malema and Lungisa will slug it out for the top job.
The provinces have become a battleground for factions divided between the two leaders, and this has also spilt over into the ANC.
Malema's right-hand man and the league's spokesman, Floyd Shivambu, said they had instructed their lawyers to respond to Masoga's court challenge.
However, he claimed they had not yet received the notice from the Eastern Cape's disbanded PEC.
Shivambu vowed that the Eastern Cape's provincial conference would take place next weekend.
*From: http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=5539790* * * -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
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