Malema loses appeal against suspension from ANC

Julius Malema has lost an appeal against a decision by the African National Congress (ANC) to suspend him. He is being banned from the ANC for five years for „sowing division“ in the party and bringing the ANC into disrepute. Furthermore, he has been told to stand down as president immediately. The charge has been upheld, but Mr Malema is to be heard in 14 days' time over the length of the suspension.
Malema was told that his claims of bias by some members of the disciplinary panel which convicted him and suspended him from the party for five years were "naive and ridiculous". Cyril Ramaphosa, a senior ANC figure, business mogul and head of the appeals committee, added that Mr Malema's claim that the ANC Youth League was independent of the mother party was "absurd in the extreme".

The youth league president was suspended in November 2011 on charges that included comparing Zuma unfavourably to his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, for failing to promote the "African agenda". Malema was also found guilty of calling for regime change in neighbouring Botswana, a source of diplomatic embarrassment.
In a minor reprieve, Malema and other youth leaders were cleared of the charge that they knowingly barged into and disrupted a meeting of the ANC's top national officials. They were also granted leave to appeal against the length of their suspension within 14 days. (Mail/Guardian)