The African National Congress Youth League logo
*The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) was founded on this date in 1944. As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (NWC).
ANCYL is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). The formation of the ANC Youth League began in 1943 at Walter Sisulu's house, where Anton Lembede, A.P. Mda, Jordan Ngubane, Nelson Mandela, and Oliver Tambo gathered. Its founders felt that ANC, dominated by the conservative and older generation, could not relate to the youth. This "older generation" had used deputations and delegations to try to get the Union government to grant equal rights to all.
Still, it became increasingly clear that this tactic was ineffective. Since the formation of the ANC in 1912, the disenfranchisement of Black people has taken place and expanded through laws such as land acts, the introduction of workplace color bars, and urban and influx control between 1913 and 1926. Following discussions on forming a youth league, the young leaders approached ANC President Dr. Alfred Bitini Xuma and submitted a proposal to establish a youth wing within the ANC.
The first conference of the youth league was in March 1944, attended by 200 people. Albertina Sisulu was the only female present. The conference elected Anton Lembede as president, Victor Mbodo as vice president, Walter Sisulu as treasurer, and Oliver Tambo as secretary. A.P. Mda, A. Nxamala, David Bopape, Peter Burman, and Joseph Mokoena were elected to the executive, together with many others. By the end of the 1940s, the Youth League had gained control of the African National Congress. It called for civil disobedience and strikes in protest at the hundreds of laws associated with the new apartheid system.
These protests were often met with force by the South African Government. In 1950, 18 Blacks were killed during a walkout, while protesters, including Mandela, were jailed and beaten for their opposition to the government. Thabo Mbeki became active in the Youth League in 1956 and was expelled from high school in 1959 for participating in a strike. In 1959, many ANCYL members broke away to form the rival Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC). In 1960, the PAC, ANC, and its associated organizations were banned.
Mbeki organized a stay-at-home protest against the South African Government's decision to leave the Commonwealth of Nations, following the ANC's suggestion. The Youth League continued its activities underground during the remainder of the apartheid years. In 1990, F. W. de Klerk legalized the ANC and its associated organizations, including the Youth League, and Peter Mokaba led the newly unbanned Youth League. In 2005, Fikile Mbalula became president of the League. Mbalula succeeded the student activist Malusi Gigaba, who went on to become the deputy minister of Home Affairs. Mbalula had served as secretary-general of the ANCYL under Gigaba's leadership. It was under Mbalula's leadership that the ANCYL took on a more visible role in defending Jacob Zuma and publicly lobbying for his election as ANC president.
Following a heated campaign and a disorderly plenary, Julius Sello Malema was elected ANC Youth League president in April 2008 and was re-elected in Midrand in June 2011 to serve for a second term. In November 2011, Julius Malema was found guilty of provoking divisions within the ruling party and of bringing the organization into disrepute and was suspended for five years. Subsequent appeal processes resulted in expulsion. Following this, the League started to experience a devastating decline in support and popularity among young people. The ANC National Executive Committee finally dissolved the ANCYL NEC due to its numerous failures.
The ANC appointed a National Youth Task Team to oversee the affairs of the ANC Youth League and take it to the conference. The task team consisted of ANC's own NEC and NWC members who were above the age of 35, which is the constitutional ceiling for the ANCYL. In 2020, a collective of young members of the ANC and its youth league, led by Nonceba Mhlauli, organized young people from all over the country to call for the disbandment of the ANCYL National Youth Task Team, due to the illegality of the structure. The ANCYL Crisis Committee argued that senior ANC members must stay away from the affairs of young people, as the youth can rebuild their structure.
In early 2021, the NEC of the ANC was persuaded by the logic of the ANCYL Crisis Committee and disbanded the ANC National Youth Task Team. It then appointed a National Congress Preparatory Team, led by Mhlauli and Joy Maimela, as National Convenor and Coordinator, respectively. During the 26th National Congress of the Youth League held in June 2023, Gauteng Youth League member Collen Malatji was elected as president. The League's constitution was also amended to allow for a second Deputy Secretary-General and Second Secretary-General, respectively.
