Malema suspension appeal dismissed

Johannesburg - A bid by embattled ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema to have his temporary suspension set aside has been dismissed, the ANC's appeal body said on Tuesday.

"The national disciplinary committee of appeals (NDCA)... found that the NDC [national disciplinary committee] did not breach the ANC constitution, the rules of natural justice and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa," chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement.

Malema applied to the NDCA on April 5 to set aside the temporary suspension, and submitted his heads of argument on Sunday.

"The applicant [Malema] based his application on the grounds that the NDC breached the ANC constitution, the rules of natural justice and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa," Ramaphosa said.

Earlier this month, the NDC announced it had temporarily suspended Malema from the party to investigate comments he made at a centenary lecture at the University of the Witwatersrand on Friday, March 30.

Malema called ANC President Jacob Zuma a dictator and accused him of suppressing the ANCYL.

The conditions of the suspension meant Malema would not be allowed to exercise any duty as an ANC member, president of the ANCYL, or member of the Limpopo provincial executive committee.