The African National Congress (ANC) on Sunday refused to confirm media reports that ANC Youth League president Julius Malema had been formally charged with ill-discipline.

"If he is charged or not, it is not a matter for the public or media, it is an internal matter of the ANC," spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said on Sunday.

The Sunday Times and City Press reported that Malema has been formally charged for ill-discipline and bringing the organisation into disrepute, and was to appear before a disciplinary committee headed by Derek Hanekom.

The hearing would discuss whether he brought the ANC and the government into disrepute by publicly endorsing Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party and attacking the opposition Movement for Democratic Change during a recent visit to that country.

In addition, he faces possible censure for remarking that former President Thabo Mbeki never rebuked the Youth League publicly when he disagreed with it, unlike President Jacob Zuma. He also faces charges for saying, after Eugene Terre'Blanche's murder, that the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader died before changing his racist behaviour, and for his aggressive behaviour towards BBC journalist Jonah Fisher, calling him a "bastard" and "bloody agent".

According to the charges, Malema brought the ANC into disrepute, and violated the moral integrity expected of members or public representatives of the organisation.

According to the Sunday Times, charges against him included promoting racism, sexism, tribal chauvinism, religious and political intolerance.

City Press reported that a Youth League delegation, headed by Malema, would meet the ANC's top six officials at Luthuli House on Monday, to discuss the disciplinary process. The date for the hearing had yet to be determined.