S.Africa's Malema asks ANC to overturn suspension

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - South Africa's fiery youth leader Julius Malema on Monday asked the ruling African National Congress to set aside his five-year suspension, in a bellwether for President Jacob Zuma's reelection bid.

His appeal began without any of the unrest that plagued the start of his disciplinary hearing in August, when his supporters clashed with police in downtown Johannesburg.

The party, which has run South Africa since Nelson Mandela became the first black president in 1994, kept a thick veil of secrecy on the proceedings.

"It's a pending decision. Nobody will talk to the media about the matter," ANC spokesman Keith Khoza said.

Five other ANC Youth League leaders will appeal similar suspensions during the same hearings, by a committee that includes senior party leaders such as businessman Cyril Ramaphosa, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe and National Planning Minister Trevor Manuel.

A dozen journalists outnumbered onlookers at the ANC headquarters in central Johannesburg early Monday morning, while a few police officers stood guard.

A lone protester wearing an ANC shirt and cap and chains around his neck, waist, wrists and ankles urged Ramaphosa to be harsh.

The man held a placard with the words: "Comrade Cyril, do the right thing, there's no case here, just shackles."

Malema's vocal calls to nationalise mines and banks, and his often racially tinged rhetoric, have divided South Africa -- despite a broad agreement that the government needs to do more to fight poverty and a 25 percent unemployment rate.

"We need somebody like Malema who will pick up on issues and talk about them. But not in the manner that he is using and not in the way that they are doing it now, because what they're doing, they're creating a divided ANC," said student Xolali Gama as he passed by the party headquarters.

But 40-something Margaret Sibela praised Malema: "He's a good leader. If he will be out, I will be out with him."

Malema is expected to ask for his suspension to be overturned because he was not allowed to plead for a lesser sentence.

In November he was found guilty of sowing divisions within the ANC, misconduct and bringing the party into disrepute, following weeks of hearings that were marred by violent protests.

The charge of bringing the party into disrepute stemmed from his call for a regime change in neighbouring democratic Botswana.

Malema and the Youth League apologised for the statement. He is also likely to argue that the disciplinary committee should have dropped the charge because of the apology.

His suspension will only take effect once he exhausts his appeals, which he could take all the way to the ANC National Executive Committee, which will meet in December at the party's leadership conference.

Zuma will seek at the same meeting to win another term at the helm of the party, which would almost guarantee him another five years as South Africa's president, given the party's overwhelming support among voters.

Malema was once a fervent Zuma backer, even vowing to "kill" for him. Now the two have fallen out, as Malema has sought to style himself as the voice of the nation's poor.

That trampled on Zuma's political turf, after he campaigned for president on promises to help the poor.

Malema has kept his anti-Zuma campaign at full-throttle despite the disciplinary process.

During the ANC's centennial celebrations earlier this month, Malema held his own rallies where supporters sang songs ridiculing the president. Malema was barred from speaking to the official gatherings.