Post date: Feb 04, 2012 7:27:1 PM
But he will have two weeks to put forward mitigation that may affect how long he is suspended for.
The African National Congress (ANC) sacked him last November after he was found guilty of three of the charges against him - including bringing the party into disrepute by calling for regime change in democratic Botswana - a position which contravenes party and government policy.
South Africa's ruling ANC upholds a decision to expel its controversial youth leader Julius Malema on charges of bringing the movement into disrepute.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (FEBRUARY 4, 2012) (REUTERS) - South Africa's suspended youth leader Julius Malema lost his appeal on Saturday (February 4) against the ANC's ruling to suspend him for five years for sowing division in the party.
Malema's lawyers claimed at the time that the decision did not follow proper ANC procedure and appealed to the National Disciplinary Appeals Panel (NDCA) to have it overturned.
Once a close ally of President Jacob Zuma, Malema is now accusing him of ignoring poor South Africans who voted him into power 2009.
His appeal was largely based on the claim that the committee did not give him the opportunity to argue in mitigation of sentence at the end of the disciplinary process.
The chairman of the NDCA, Cyril Ramaphosa, was meticulous in the listing of Malema's and three other ANC youth league members 69 arguments for appeal saying the committee had to plough through a "mountain of documents".
And before announcing the committee's decision he said the ANC, as the oldest liberation movement in Africa, must ensure its members maintain the party's character of fairness, justice and the fight against racism. For this, he said, the ANC needed discipline.
"The ANC believes that one should also not lose sight of the fact that discipline is one of the key pillars in the life of the ANC. it is an important pillar that has been solidified over many many years and decades," Ramaphosa said.
In less than four years, firebrand ANC youth leader Julius Malema has become one of the most influential and controversial faces of South Africa's ruling party as he pushes the demands of the forgotten poor to the top of the political agenda.
Thirty-year old Malema, has rattled investors with his calls to nationalise the country's giant gold and platinum mines, unnerved whites by advocating land seizures and had to face a disciplinary panel twice in 18 months.
But his populist and militant speeches have lured tens of thousands of poor, unemployed black youths, many facing a bleak future, into his camp.
Ramaphosa said the disciplinary committee would give him 14 days to put forward mitigation arguments that could affect the length of his suspension from the ANC.
"The NDCA has therefore decided that the four disciplinary hearings be referred back to the NDC to hear evidence which the appellants may wish to present to the NDC in mitigation of sanctions. In the interest of equity and fairness, the NDCA has also decided that the respondents should be afforded the opportunity to present, that is the ANC must have the opportunity, to present evidence in aggravation of sanction, if any, as requested in argument before it," Ramaphosa said.
The committee said it upheld the majority of the convictions against him with just a few exceptions.
"On the so called barging charge as indicated the appellant are found not guilty, the conviction and sentence is therefore set aside," Ramaphosa said.
"On the appeal of Julius Malema, the appellant appeal against his conviction for contravening rule 255i of the constitution is dismissed and a guilty finding by the NDC is confirmed. the appellants appeal against his conviction for contravening 255c of the ANC is also dismissed and guilty finding of the NDC is confirmed" he continued.
A smattering of Malema supporters stood outside the party headquarters.
Malema has been described as a reckless populist and a future leader of Africa's biggest economy. To many in South Africa, he is simply known by his nickname "Juju" which his supporters shouted outside the building.
His supporters are the legions of young black South Africans still living in poverty nearly two decades after the end of apartheid and the formation of South Africa's "Rainbow Nation".
"Everything is going to Malema. I think Malema is right. Because he is going through the truth. When we see the ANC, they are always corrupt. All people for ANC they are corrupt," said Malema supporter Christopher Mangale.
An opponent of Malema said he would have preferred the NDCA to expel him immediately so the party could concentrate on unity.
"Expel him! Same time. I agree with the NDC they must expel him at the same time. They must not postpone, postpone. He needs to be expelled!" said Sipho Mchunu.
Malema is also facing a criminal probe that is looking into his finances. He has been able to stay in the party pending the appeal.
He arrived at Winnie Mandela's house in Soweto immediately after the reading but refused to comment.
Born into poverty to the son of a domestic worker who worked for an Indian family in Limpopo, north of Johannesburg, Malema became politically active from an early age and rose through the ranks to become ANC Youth League president in 2008.
Unemployment is officially around 25 percent. Millions still live in squalid shack settlements clustered around big cities. Youth unemployment is about 50 percent, and a recent study by the South African Institute of Race Relations said about half of people now aged 25-34 would never find work.
The decision will derail the career of Malema one of the country's best known politicians and whose calls for radical transformation of Africa's largest economy unnerved investors and drew harsh criticism from some African National Congress leaders.