In Brief

Julius Malema is a South African politician and the president of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) since April 2008. His entry into politics was when he joined the Masupatsela (”Trailblazers”) pioneer movement of the African National Congress at age nine in 1990. He received military training at the age of 14, which led to him joining the ANC Youth League in 1994. Malema was elected as both chairman of the Youth League branch in Seshego and the regional chairman in 1995. In 1997 he became the chairman of the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) in the Limpopo province. He became the national president of Cosas in 2001. He is known for his outspoken nature on socio-political issues.