Police in South Africa on Tuesday confronted crowds of angry demonstrators supporting Julius Malema, the firebrand leader of the ruling party’s influential youth league, as he attended a disciplinary hearing that could sway his political career and that of President Jacob Zuma before party elections next year.
Under attack by Malema supporters burning the party flag and throwing rocks and bottles, the police fired stun grenades and water cannons outside the Johannesburg headquarters of the African National Congress, in power since the first post-apartheid elections in 1994.
The hearing came days after an elite police unit said it was investigating Malema’s financial dealings, news reports said.
It was not clear when the internal disciplinary panel would announce its findings. The panel was to resume deliberations today.
Malema is under fire for urging the overthrow of neighboring Botswana’s government.
If Malema is exonerated, South African analysts said, he may feel emboldened to challenge Zuma, to whom he brought decisive support in a leadership battle in 2007.
The New York Times
