WHILE various protest campaigns were held across the country on Friday in opposition of President Jacob Zuma‚ the ANCYL also organized marches in support of government. The Youth League has thrown its full support behind the embattled leader and says it is in favour of the president’s recent cabinet reshuffle, which resulted in Fitch and Standard & Poor’s agencies downgrading South Africa’s sovereign credit rating to junk status.
At a memorial service for struggle stalwart Ahmed Kathrada at Sastri College on Sunday in Durban, the Youth Lague’s war cry wenzeni uZuma, wenzeni uZuma awuphendule (Please tell us what has Zuma done) rang out loudly as they disrupted proceedings and booed former finance minister Pravin Gordhan, the main speaker at the event, as well as the ruling party’s treasurer-general, Zweli Mkhize.
Gordhan has been a prime focus of the league’s rage, after he called for mass mobilization against Zuma’s cabinet reshuffle.
Kathrada’s funeral and other subsequent memorial services have turned into anti-Zuma rallies with speakers drawing attention to the growing discontent within the ANC. Speaking at the memorial service on Sunday, Thanduxolo Sabelo, the league’s provincial secretary cautioned against leaders using funerals as platforms to divide and tear up the organisation.
“We are here to celebrate the life of Kathrada and not disrupt the proceedings, however, we will not allow to have his name used to sow divisions in the ANC. We do not have a problem with Pravin Gordhan, we only have a problem with him when he is in a quarrel with the leadership of the ANC,” he said.
Following the cabinet reshuffle, the Youth League released a statement claiming it welcomed the changes.
“We are pleased that the changes bring some younger MPs and women into the National Executive in order to benefit from their energy, experience and expertise. This is consistent with the position we adopted at our 25th National Congress and later fought, and won, at the 2015 ANC NGC, that young people should form, at least 40 per cent, of leadership in all spheres of society.”
The Active Citizens’ Movement, which organised Sunday’s memorial service, had approached the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban, to have the Youth League barred from attending. The court resolved to allow the League to attend, but cautioned them not to disrupt proceedings. Sunday’s memorial was the last of several held across the country in honour of Kathrada, an ANC stalwart and one of Nelson Mandela’s closest colleagues in the struggle against apartheid. He was 87 when he died.
The Durban University of Technology (DUT) is the last institution to have given Kathrada an honorary doctorate. The Save South Africa campaign has also voiced its concern about what it calls a trend of attacks and intimidation against those exercising their right to protest against Zuma’s rule.
In 2008, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) President and former ANCYL leader Julius Malema also vowed that the youth of South Africa would die in supporting ANC President Jacob Zuma. “We are prepared to die for Zuma, we are prepared to take up arms and kill for Zuma,” Malema said at the time.
