Fikile Mbalula and Julius Malema were accelerators of the decline of democracy within the ANC, and ultimately of the destruction of the party. They have much to answer for, but eschew discursive engagement — one of the reasons why they contributed to the breakdown. State capture has been perpetrated by President Jacob Zuma, the Gupta family and their various sycophants, but the ground for Zuma’s ascendancy and the conditions he needed to loot the state — his dominance of the ANC, his ability to evade accountability and the decline of democracy within the governing party — were prepared by his political allies before he became president. And the ANC Youth League was crucial in securing these conditions. As president of the league from 2004 to 2008, Mbalula blundered into a type of leadership that changed the culture of the league, and of the ANC. He became president after Malusi Gigaba completed his third term as youth leader. Gigaba at that time was fairly respectful of the party’s ...
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