Julius and the cup of can't give up

Thought I may be done with the Julius Malema story- but I am not it seems.

Yesterday there were stories that he was now going to take his fight to get reinstated to the ground by way of protests and marches. At the same time, some senior ANC leaders, like Tokyo Sexwale warned that cadres who have been disciplined, must accept their fate. This is significant as Tokyo was an ally of Malema not that long ago, so perhaps this is telling all by itself. . 

It is difficult to judge how much support Malema still enjoys by way of a percentage, but it is common knowledge that his support is on the wane. Many ANC members see him as a problem and even in Limpopo, his home province, they are turning on him. Having said that, the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) leadership still supports him. Mostly that is. 

So, things will become interesting. The mother body, the ANC, insists that the youth league is part of the ANC and thus, subject to it's rules, whilst the youth league insists they are autonomous. Now, in any normal world, the youth league would be an arm of the ANC. But South Africa sometimes is not part of a normal world. 

The youth league states that, at it's last conference, they passed a mandate that stipulates that only the ANCYL can discipline it's members. However, as part of a smaller wing of a larger ruling body, this type of mandate should be null and void, except if the senior body agrees. In this case, it has not and still insists that the YL fall's under it. 

So, we are headed for a big clash if both bodies stand firm. Julius Malema is not one to lie down and accept his fate and still insists that he has done nothing wrong. He still also takes cheap shots at the leaders of the ANC, white capitalists and so on, probably in an attempt to keep himself in the headlines. In a way it is sad that he did not accept the verdict and fade away, instead of looking so desperate. All he he doing is causing further race damage, damage to South Africa and to himself. 

His has confirmed that he will appeal his expulsion. Having said that, one of the reasons he was expelled was for not showing any remorse for his actions- and that clearly has not changed. So, if the expulsion is overturned, it will be a shock and this will make the mother body look weak and show it bows to pressure. 

Should they decide to ratify the expulsion, his only real option is to hope somebody in the senior levels of the ANC vouches for him. Given that politics is a power game and people who want a career, stick with the circle of power, it will be doubtful if any went against the Zuma camp and stood with Malema. 

In the next couple of months we are in for an exciting ride as we watch the power struggle between the ANC and it's youth league. As we have leaned from the past, nothing is certain in politics.