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ANC Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema was expelled from the party last month for bringing the party’s name into disrepute.
But a seemingly undeterred Malema addressed a well attended rally in the Limpopo province where he appeared alongside Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
In recent weeks, Motlanthe who is also ANC deputy president, has emerged as one of Zuma’s likely challengers at the party’s elective conference in December.
Malema told his supporters Zuma had already made his mind that his appeal against the expulsion would not succeed. This was after the ANC leader was quoted as saying that if Malema’s appeal failed the youth league would need to find a new president.

A defiant Malema said: “when I go to court, it would not be a transgression of the constitution of the ANC as I am no longer a member of the ANC and would not be undermining the constitution.”
He remains president of the league pending his appeal against the decision to expel him by the ANC’s national disciplinary committee. Until now he has consistently rejected the idea of taking legal action against the ANC.

According to reports Malema told the crowd: “I have not been chased from heaven, but from the ANC by a faction that can only do so as they currently have power.
“They are trying to punish anyone associated with the ANCYL as if we are an illegal association.
“There is no longer a youth league of the ANC. We are a former self. They have succeeded in killing us.”
However, it is Motlanthe’s presence at the rally that would fuel more speculation about the forces now ganging up against Zuma, especially after the deputy president told the crowd the party “needs a militant youth league that will be able to rapidly respond to the challenges faced by young people”.

Motlanthe said the youth league “is an integral part of bringing new ideas in the movement”.
There have been several reports claiming Motlanthe will challenge Zuma at the all-important ANC conference. But formal nominations will only open in October.
At the rally in Limpopo, some ANC members were wearing T-shirts bearing Motlanthe’s face. It has also been reported that recorded songs praising Malema and calling for a Motlanthe presidency were played over the sound system.

Shouts of “Viva Malema” and “Viva Limpopo” reverberated through the stadium, as did the calls: “Are you ready for President Malema? Are you ready for President Motlanthe?”
In a television interview earlier this week, Malema said he had offered to resign from the youth league but he was rebuffed by the body.

“They said it is like running away from the issue and they want me to stay,” he claimed.
He added: “It’s not my call, my future has always been decided by                          the youth movement but the ANC will take the final decision.” 
Meanwhile, there will be much speculation now about Motlanthe’s political ambitions following the ANC deputy president’s public appearance with suspended ANCYL leader Malema in Limpopo at the weekend.

Motlanthe’s appearance is widely interpreted as a public display of support for the embattled youth leader.
The question that must be asked is whether Motlanthe’s                               appearance in Limpopo is a genuine display of support for Malema or whether the ANC deputy president is playing a smart game that paves the way for a new leadership of the youth league and at the same advances his own political ambitions.

He cautioned the youth not to blindly adore T-shirt face leaders, not to put individuals on a pedestal over the party or its affiliates.
Many analysts have said that Malema without the ANC is dead politically. Can he survive the onslaught from other quarters?
After all, Malema’s woes were a long time coming, with several investigations into companies that are linked to him, including by the public protector, Thuli Madonsela, and the Hawks.

The road to Mangaung is long, and much can happen between now and October when the contenders for the party’s presidency are announced through the ANC’s traditional elective process.
But even as the party urges its members to restrain themselves and abide by party policy, it might be high time for the party to revisit its approach to its elective

conferences. Regardless, South Africans will campaign for one person or another.
Will this not lead to more ruptures in the party as public opinion and                rumours do the rounds? Has this not already caused so much destruction in             the ANC and how much more strain can the party take, if this is the route it takes?

However, Motlanthe, if nominated, has a democratic right to contend for the crown.
If he has support, why not? He has tasted power, even for a brief spell. And he has found support, even in this brief spell, not only within the ANC, but also outside of the party, among ordinary South Africans, and potential ANC voters. — www.thenewage.co.za