ANCYL to learn ‘gun handling’, ‘guerrilla tactics’ and ‘military training’ at Spring Camp

A flyer circulating online from the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) has been raising eyebrows, as it seems to suggest the organisation will be receiving military training.

When called by The Citizen, the contact given on the flyer, General Ntsuka, confirmed that this was an actual ANC Youth League event.

Billed as the inter-zonal and greater Johannesburg ANCYL’s Spring Weekend Camp, the event will take place from August 30 until September 1 at Camp Zenith in Heidelberg.

What has led to the event being questioned, however, is the list of activities on the flyer. It says those who attend will be able to enjoy a weekend of “flag raising and lowering”, an “obstacle course”, as well as “swimming, hiking, military training, gun handling, and guerrilla tactics”.

For what the ANCYL would need this kind of training is unclear at this point. One of the Citizen’s reporters will be asking Nkuta this and more, with the resulting interview available in tomorrow’s (Wednesday) edition of The Citizen newspaper.

READ MORE: ANC Youth League members protest, demand disbandment of ‘old crooks’

ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, meanwhile, said the ANCYL members responsible for the camp would have to explain themselves.

She was questioned about the upcoming event at a media briefing on Tuesday at which she and ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule detailed the outcomes of a recent national executive council (NEC) meeting in Pretoria.

“We do not accept the decision of a youth league in Gauteng that they will be training people militarily and handing out guns,” she said.

“The youth league [members responsible] will be requested to come and explain themselves to us. If anyone wants to join the defence force they can apply to join the SANDF, we do not subscribe to private armies on the side.”

The ANCYL’s future is currently under threat following some of its members demanding its immediate disbandment at the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Pretoria last week.

A crowd of disgruntled ANCYL members protested outside the meeting, calling for the disbandment of the league’s provincial and national leadership led by Collen Maine.

Bongiseni Dladla, a coordinator of the ANCYL Revival Movement, said: “We are simply saying take us to a national conference, and we can elect comrades who can take the Youth League to its former glory. The is a lot of talent in the ANC Youth League… we don’t understand why we must keep these old crooks in the youth league when they are old, illegitimate, and unconstitutional.”

Whether the ANCYL’s decision to seek military training has anything to do with their current internal battles and possible disbandment is unclear at this point.

(Background reporting, ANA)

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