Introducing Fiona Forde’s Timely Biography: An Inconvenient Youth: Julius Malema and the ‘New’ ANC

by Tarryn on Aug 1st, 2011

More than a ringleader, a rabble-rouser and a rebel who knows no bounds, Julius Malema is a new kind of cadre in South African political life, a radical product of 100 years of struggle politics. Whether you love him or loathe him, he is undeniably one of the most controversial politicians of our time and yet he remains an enigma to most.

An Inconvenient Youth traces Malema’s life, from his early, poverty-stricken years in Limpopo, to his joining the student structures of the ANC in the early 1990s, and his rapid rise through the party’s ranks to become the president of the ANC Youth League in 2008. Forde analyses the sources of Malema’s wealth, exploring his seamless approach to business through politics. She situates Malema within the ANC’s history and shows in unprecedented detail how he has perfected the practices that characterise a new ‘struggle’ in which individuals extend their personal wealth and political power at the expense of the people.

This researched account explores how a brave child has grown to become a grave inconvenience, not only to the ANC, but also, due to his style of politics, to South Africa’s fledgling democracy.

“Major political reforms bring important changes in the lives of ordinary people, sometimes for better but other times for worse. This book maps the rags-to-riches road travelled by Julius Malema, ANC Youth League president. It is a must read for those who wish to understand South Africa’s unfolding dramas.” – Moeletsi Mbeki

“Insightful, thorough and balanced, An Inconvenient Youth is a crucial contribution towards understanding a man who is arguably South Africa’s most-talked-about politician today.” – Redi Thlabi

About the author

Fiona Forde is an Irish journalist based in Cape Town. For a number of years she has covered politics and current affairs in South Africa and abroad for print and radio media.

Book details