CONTROVERSIAL ANC youth leader, Julius Malema has hit back at his critics insisting he will not be silenced and reiterated that while the youth body was an integral part of the broader liberation movement, it was also an autonomous institution.
Addressing the ANC’s Young Women’s Assembly on Friday, Malema warned opponents against attempts to “liquidate the ANC Youth League (and) destroy its leadership”.
The youth league chief put a few noses in the ANC hierarchy out of joint last month when he dabbled into Zimbabwean politics to support President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party and dismissed the MDC as an imperial proxy.
He also chucked a BBC reporter out of a press conference and faced accusations of fanning racism after he continued to sing the liberation song “shoot the Boer”.
The antics prompted an angry statement from President Jacob Zuma who said leaders needed to “think before speaking” adding that the ANC Youth League was not an independent organisation.
However, during his Friday address, Malema begged to differ.
He said: “The ANC Youth League is an integral part of the ANC, but an autonomous organisation. It does many things, which some will not be comfortable with the older generation (sic).
“Many generations before us defended the autonomy of the ANC Youth League and we owe it upon these generations to protect and defend the autonomy of the ANC Youth League."
The youth leader, who has been hauled before the party’s disciplinary committee, further criticised attempts by the ANC leadership to silence him.
“When Nelson Mandela called for armed struggle, it was not (the) policy of the ANC. The leadership of the ANC did not seek to muzzle him and stop him from saying what he had to say.
“There are many things that were said and done by various leaders and generations of the ANC, but they were never silenced through threats of suspension and expulsion from the ANC,” he said.
Malema also reiterated the Youth League’s commitment to the nationalisation of the country’s mines saying while South Africa boasted some of the world’s largest mineral reserves the majority of the population was yet to benefit from the resources.
“People can go around the world to make assurances that Mines will not be nationalised, yet the reality of the situation is that nationalisation of Mines is currently on the agenda of the ANC,” he said.