'If they want to arrest me, they are welcome to come and arrest me' - Malema

Johannesburg - Suspended ANCYL president Julius Malema issued a challenge on Saturday to those within the ruling party who were trying to silence him, the SABC reported.

"We know that undemocratic processes are those that are intolerant to different views, those that use state power to deal with those that disagree," Malema said.

He said these elements had unleashed all state institutions against him as they would do anything to silence him.

"If they want to arrest me, I've got an address, they are welcome to come and arrest me," he said.

Earlier, Malema said he was not breaking any rules of his suspension by addressing Limpopo youth league elective conference delegates from his home.

"When you visit me here and you want me to engage with you, I do so without any fear or favour because this is my house," Malema said.

"Because this is my house, there is nobody, no matter how powerful you are, [who will] tell me you can only talk to this visitor and not that visitor."

Earlier, delegates from the African National Congress Youth League Limpopo parallel elective conference arrived in Malema's neighbourhood and sang struggle songs in support of him.

"When you are here, you are not delegates... you are my visitors, you are my friends," he told them.

Alternative exco elected

The Seshego conference was being held less than a kilometre away from Malema's home.

Malema, who is also a member of the league's Limpopo executive committee, was expelled from the ANC in November last year for sowing divisions within the party and for bringing it into disrepute.

He was found to have done so by unfavourably comparing the leadership style of President Jacob Zuma to his predecessor Thabo Mbeki, and for remarks about regime change in Botswana.

Despite the expulsion Malema remained the youth wing's leader until all options to overturn his sentence were exhausted.

He was gagged earlier this month when the ANC's national disciplinary committee suspended him from the party after he called Zuma a dictator.

The conditions of the suspension prohibited him from exercising any duty as an ANC member, president of the ANCYL or member of the province's executive committee.

A parallel conference held in Seshego had elected a 25 member provincial executive by early evening, the SABC reported.

The parallel conference was made up of disbanded branches who were denied entry to the Polokwane conference. They claimed the Limpopo leadership had not listened to their concerns.

The Seshego conference elected Boy Mamabola as chairman of the Youth League in the province.

Ill discipline

Earlier, he said this conference would elect a new "preferred" provincial leadership.

Mamabolo claimed that the Seshego conference was legitimate and cast doubt on the political future of premier Cassel Mathale.

"...We are awaiting a report from Comrade Jeff Hadebe, once he has tabled that report to the NWC and NEC then we'll see whether it rejects or will retain Mathale as our leader."

Earlier at the Polokwane conference provincial chair Frans Moswane warned that action would be taken against ill disciplined members, a reference to the Seshego conference.

He there was only one legitimate conference taking place in the province, which was in Polokwane.

On Friday, some league members were kept out of the Polokwane conference registration, which was guarded by police and traffic officers.