End of the Rope for Malema
By Vusi Moloi © 2011
The ANC Youth League President Julius Malema has been dealt a deathblow with respect to his political influence within the ANC after getting his membership suspended for five years. Mr. Malema received an unusually harsh disciplinary sentence from the National Disciplinary Committee of the ANC via its Chairperson Mr. Derek Hanekom.
Since this is the second conviction of a similar charge for which Mr. Malema was given a suspended two year sentence last year, this means he must effectively vacate his post as the President of the ANC Youth League as of yesterday. Even though he has expressed his intention to appeal the sentence, this is not going to change the fact that he is automatically suspended for two years in accordance with the 2010 charge and guilty plea and at a minimum he must still stay outside ANC politics for two years. This shows that his political wings have been clipped as of yesterday.
Why Malema Got Into Trouble?
The problems of Mr. Malema are avoidable i.e. he didn’t have to call for the downfall of the Botswana Government, he didn’t have to embarrass a White journalist calling him by his genitalia and others. Considering that he had already been sentenced last year, one would have expected him to do whatever it took to preserve his ANC and ANC Youth League membership and never allow the repeat of the same offence. Perhaps Mr. Malema is an inflexible thinker when it comes to adaptation? He would rather be kicked out of his ANC home than comply with the rules as articulated by the ANC leadership?
He understandably represents the voice of the economically disenfranchised and has demonstrated the necessary valour, fortitude and uncompromising spirit needed. He has articulated the right issues of economic marginalization of the African natives. Along with his gutsy spirit, Mr. Malema needed to show an adaptable personality and honourable character in order to preserve his role as a champion of the disenfranchised. Above all else, he needed to show respect to his leaders and others something that he failed to do. Instead, Mr. Malema was perceived as disrespectful, confrontational and ill-disciplined when it came to selective judgement. I spoke to an old African man about the case and he observed that Mr. Malema hit the right points on the issues that affect the African natives but he was rather too impatient, unrully and disrespectful to the older generation and the President of the country Mr. Zuma. This man told me that in respect is an extremely important attribute in an African society and if you are perceived as disrespectful and not waiting your turn then you become an outcast. Mr. Malema has found himself in that position as we write these lines.
He needed to take a page from a great African military commander Umkhuzi wa Mabutho Ndlela Ka Sompisi who showed a superior skill as an adaptable individual when he served without contradiction in the two opposing regimes of King Shaka and then King Dingane who assassinated his brother Shaka. How was it possible for General Ndlela to serve under administrations that were antagonistically opposed to each other in the 1800s? The secret lies in the fact that General Ndlela was loyal to the Kingdom of Zululand regardless of who presided over it whther King Shaka or King Dingane. King Dingane was satisfied that General Ndlela was a professional and loyal soldier whose uncompromising loyalty lay in the preservation, continuity and survival of the Zulu Kingdom.
If Mr. Malema had read about General Ndlela maybe it would have made him wiser. As it stands, he fought too many battles without a unifying strategy. Today he is out in the cold with many daggers ready to backstab him politically.
Even though he is out and down, he is still in the game because all he has to do is appeal his sentence with a hope of reducing the time from five years to two years so that he takes the two year period as an introspective sabbatical to plan his comeback in 2013. If he is wise, he mustn’t get into any more fight. He must retreat in order to fight another day as the great Chinese philosopher Sun Tsu once wrote in his book The Art of War. The same philosopher also says that providence is on the side of big battalions. Mr. Malema needs time to rebuild his battalions and two years is more than enough.
Another advice is that Mr. Malema must reduce his battles. He must only fight one battle at a time and not two or three or six but just one battle! Going to Botswana to bring about the downfall of that Government was a misguided battle he didn’t need to fight.
All who are gleeful about Mr. Malema’s troubles must not count out him yet. The ANC is the only show in town and Mr. Malema understands that when he says the ANC is his only home. He has the right frame of mind. He can still recover from setback and he will rise again and this time around, hopefully wiser.
The ANC Youth League President Julius Malema has been dealt a deathblow with respect to his political influence within the ANC after getting his membership suspended for five years. Mr. Malema received an unusually harsh disciplinary sentence from the National Disciplinary Committee of the ANC via its Chairperson Mr. Derek Hanekom.
Since this is the second conviction of a similar charge for which Mr. Malema was given a suspended two year sentence last year, this means he must effectively vacate his post as the President of the ANC Youth League as of yesterday. Even though he has expressed his intention to appeal the sentence, this is not going to change the fact that he is automatically suspended for two years in accordance with the 2010 charge and guilty plea and at a minimum he must still stay outside ANC politics for two years. This shows that his political wings have been clipped as of yesterday.
Why Malema Got Into Trouble?
The problems of Mr. Malema are avoidable i.e. he didn’t have to call for the downfall of the Botswana Government, he didn’t have to embarrass a White journalist calling him by his genitalia and others. Considering that he had already been sentenced last year, one would have expected him to do whatever it took to preserve his ANC and ANC Youth League membership and never allow the repeat of the same offence. Perhaps Mr. Malema is an inflexible thinker when it comes to adaptation? He would rather be kicked out of his ANC home than comply with the rules as articulated by the ANC leadership?
He understandably represents the voice of the economically disenfranchised and has demonstrated the necessary valour, fortitude and uncompromising spirit needed. He has articulated the right issues of economic marginalization of the African natives. Along with his gutsy spirit, Mr. Malema needed to show an adaptable personality and honourable character in order to preserve his role as a champion of the disenfranchised. Above all else, he needed to show respect to his leaders and others something that he failed to do. Instead, Mr. Malema was perceived as disrespectful, confrontational and ill-disciplined when it came to selective judgement. I spoke to an old African man about the case and he observed that Mr. Malema hit the right points on the issues that affect the African natives but he was rather too impatient, unrully and disrespectful to the older generation and the President of the country Mr. Zuma. This man told me that in respect is an extremely important attribute in an African society and if you are perceived as disrespectful and not waiting your turn then you become an outcast. Mr. Malema has found himself in that position as we write these lines.
He needed to take a page from a great African military commander Umkhuzi wa Mabutho Ndlela Ka Sompisi who showed a superior skill as an adaptable individual when he served without contradiction in the two opposing regimes of King Shaka and then King Dingane who assassinated his brother Shaka. How was it possible for General Ndlela to serve under administrations that were antagonistically opposed to each other in the 1800s? The secret lies in the fact that General Ndlela was loyal to the Kingdom of Zululand regardless of who presided over it whther King Shaka or King Dingane. King Dingane was satisfied that General Ndlela was a professional and loyal soldier whose uncompromising loyalty lay in the preservation, continuity and survival of the Zulu Kingdom.
If Mr. Malema had read about General Ndlela maybe it would have made him wiser. As it stands, he fought too many battles without a unifying strategy. Today he is out in the cold with many daggers ready to backstab him politically.
Even though he is out and down, he is still in the game because all he has to do is appeal his sentence with a hope of reducing the time from five years to two years so that he takes the two year period as an introspective sabbatical to plan his comeback in 2013. If he is wise, he mustn’t get into any more fight. He must retreat in order to fight another day as the great Chinese philosopher Sun Tsu once wrote in his book The Art of War. The same philosopher also says that providence is on the side of big battalions. Mr. Malema needs time to rebuild his battalions and two years is more than enough.
Another advice is that Mr. Malema must reduce his battles. He must only fight one battle at a time and not two or three or six but just one battle! Going to Botswana to bring about the downfall of that Government was a misguided battle he didn’t need to fight.
All who are gleeful about Mr. Malema’s troubles must not count out him yet. The ANC is the only show in town and Mr. Malema understands that when he says the ANC is his only home. He has the right frame of mind. He can still recover from setback and he will rise again and this time around, hopefully wiser.
posted by Vusi Moloi at
10:30 AM
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