Stuck in a Moment

It's like a really bad hangover. That fuzzy feeling, compounded by a shrunken, dehydrated brain, parched mouth, bad mood, beer breath and crusty eyes after a long, over-indulgent evening of imbibing. And here I'm only referring to how the remnants of the current ANCYL NEC, which is now a shivering, waning shadow of it's former arrogant self, must be feeling, almost on a daily basis. If most of them haven't starting hitting the bottle to cope with the league's seemingly never-ending woes, then I'd suggest they make a mad dash to the nearest shebeen for a dop or 12.
The Juju hangover seems to have been with us for months now. And it's not going away. As much as us sane folk may yearn for delirium tremens, the ANC's kindergarten class seems to be something which will unfortunately be with us for a while longer or until at least Luthuli House blinks. Don't hold your breath.
This obdurate insistence on keeping Chief Malema at the helm, even after his suspension, expulsion, sacking - call it what you want - stinks of desperation and lack of real political maturity.
 The surviving league leaders (who themselves have started cannibalising each other. Ask Pule Mabe his opinion on this) can't seem to see past their egos and that of Malema. They keep insisting he's still in charge. The April 30th edition of the Cape Times read 'League Defies ANC'. More recently another headline was only slightly tweaked. 'Malema is still out boss - defiant ANCYL' it balked. I picture the newspaper sub-editor who penned the latter headline staring blankly at his/her computer, drool inching from the mouth, that glazed look of abject boredom in the eyes as a slow news day relented to yet another ANCYL story, which smelled, appeared, and sounded exactly like previous ones, except, of course with more sensational language and asinine details. Can league NEC members, those who haven't been purged or suspended, not find another president? Is it that difficult for them to see past the weighty (read:overweight) shadow cast by Malema? It's clearly a dire time for them. Their little minds can't search the ranks of the body for a replacement. There must surely be someone out there. The cult of Juju is so immense, stubborn and torpid it's left them so brainwashed and drained, I'd risk arguing, they've lost the steam to even try and move on. Like a weepy, wistful, love-lorn teenager, the NEC doodles Malema's name over and over in their textbooks, silly hearts and cupids abound as they muddle through memories of the good times with Jules at the helm. Like the time he waddled for 'economic freedom' or that now infamous 'bloody agent' occasion, when the firebrand was at the height of his notoriety. It's all gone now.
Is there even a thought of a rebound relationship? Could they flirt with a new leader? Court and woo someone, away from the glare of the Great Expelled One? The answer, at least at this stage, is sadly quite obvious - no. Given the effort plowed into fighting for his survival (and his vaingloriousness) they can't move on. Add to this the fact an elective conference looms, I predict even more mundane headlines shouting, mumbling and moaning about how the league will continue to battle it out, all in the name of Julius, as the organisation tries to stick it to the ANC.