The ANC Youth League has accused President Jacob Zuma of bringing the integrity of the ruling party's disciplinary process into question.
The league was responding to Zuma's remark that the ANC Youth League will have to elect a new president.
This indicates a premature expulsion of Julius Malema, even before the national disciplinary committee of appeals could consider evidence on whether the earlier sanction of the commitee had been sound.
Speaking in Port Elizabeth this morning, Zuma said the Youth League must accept that it needed to appoint a new president, and move on.
The Youth League says Zuma was unduly influencing the members of the committee to reach a conclusion.
"ANC President Zuma`s utterances are not only shocking, but undermine the ANC disciplinary process, whose integrity and fairness is already under question," the Youth League statement said.
"President Zuma`s proclamation that the ANC YL will have to have a new President is a premature expulsion of ANC YL President even before the NDCA could listen to evidence on whether the sanction of the NDC is sound."
"As a President of the ANC and country, President Zuma is unduly influencing the members of the NDCA to come to a conclusion which he has already announced publicly. It is apparent that the decision to expel the leadership of the ANC YL was taken at The New Age breakfast," the ANC Youth League added.
