Who Would Run Nationalised Mines With Youth Abandoning Classes to Support Malema?

Gift Ngobeni

Many ANC Youth League Supporters Chanted Struggle
Songs outside ANC Buildings in Johannesburg last night.
Photo: http://www.iol.co.za/

I watched with utter disgust as young people, some students from universities and high schools, abandon classes and work to go and support the ANC Youth League president Julius Malema outside Luthuli House this morning. This irresponsible practice started last night when young people held a night vigil outside the headquarters of the African National Congress.

Malema has been preaching nationalisation of mines and economic freedom, but then I would like to ask this question to our “youth leader”, who is going to run those state structures when our future leaders abandon school to support him. Night vigils will not educate nor benefit the youth of today as it will only contribute to the high percentage of illiteracy in South Africa. I personally have nothing against the ANCYL president but encouraging young people to leave school work in support of one man is a serious contradiction and unacceptable.


The supporters look determined to bring the economy to a halt for the sake of their leader, they are blocking traffic in Africa‘s financial capital, Johannesburg. Timeslive reports that ANC Youth League supporters have been burning T-Shirts with President Jacob Zuma's face printed on them before ANCYL president Julius Malema's disciplinary hearing this morning. Police have been forced to fire rubber bullets at the unruly crowd trying to force its way through the barriers and gain access to ANC offices where the hearing is to take place.

Firebrand ANCYL President, Julius Malema, faces a possbility
of losing his ANC membership card if found guilty.

Sowetan Live spoke to some of Malema's supporters like Thabile Mangena who told the publication that: "We are positive that the outcome (of the disciplinary hearing) will be in Malema's favour. As a parent, you discipline a child when it's naughty, you do not throw it out. That is what we expect the ANC to do in this case."

Malema's devotees hoisted flags and placards in support of the beleaguered ANCYL leader. One of the placards carried by a zealous Malema loyalist read: "Leave our president alone. Save Malema."

The other one read: "The cowards are scared, we must shoot ... shoot with a gun." All these things raise questions about the kind of revolution that South African young people in 2011 are fighting for.

In 1976 the youth of South Africa fought for education, in 2011 we thank them by disrupting classes and jeopardising the very same education to support a controversial public figure. How pathetic!