African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) leader Julius Malema was facing a busy day on Monday.

Although the ANCYL would deny it, he was expected to appear before a disciplinary hearing at Luthuli House in Johannesburg for bringing the ruling party into disrepute.

"He has been served with a notice and we expect him on Monday," the chairperson of the disciplinary hearing, Derek Hanekom, who is also the Deputy Science and Technology Minister, told weekend newspapers.

However, ANCYL spokesperson Magdalene Moonsamy told Sapa that she "was not aware" of him receiving a notice to appear at the hearing.

Malema did have at least one other engagement on Monday.

The Equality Court in Johannesburg was expected to hear a hate speech complaint against him, lodged by Afriforum Youth, for singing "shoot the boer".

The High Court in Pretoria earlier granted an interdict preventing Malema from singing the lyrics, pending the start of the Equality Court hearing.

The "shoot the boer" singing raised the ire of many groupings, with emotions reaching boiling point after last month's killing of rightwing leader Eugene Terre'blanche on his farm outside Ventersdorp.

But the last straw for the ANC seemed to be Malema's public support of Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party during a visit to the neighbouring country, where he also sang the notorious song again.

This came as President Jacob Zuma was involved in intense and complicated efforts to get Zanu-PF to work with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in a government of national unity.

After a public rebuke by Zuma, Malema criticised the ANC president, saying: "Even [former] President Thabo Mbeki, when he differed from the youth league - and the youth league had taken firm radical positions against him - he never did that."

Now top ANC officials were set to decide on Malema's future in the party, with a hearing that could end in a reprimand, suspension or even expulsion.

Some weekend papers speculated that Malema might plead guilty to avoid a harsh sentence.

If Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa's remarks in Durban on Sunday were anything to go by, Malema - who recently called a BBC journalist a "bastard" and a "bloody agent" - was in trouble.

Mthethwa reminisced about ANC youth leaders of the past who were "disciplined... matured", SABC radio news reported on Monday morning.

"Nelson Mandela in his early years... these were young people but they were solid, they were disciplined, they were mature," said Mthethwa, adding: "Then look where we are today... we have the leader - Juju boy, Julius Malema."

Even from within the ANCYL's ranks, Malema seemed to be losing some support.

The Star newspaper reported on Monday that a group of ANCYL members declared war on Malema at a conference held in Limpopo, shouting, "down with Julius Malema, down!"