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It is most disconcerting to see the completely mixed messages being sent out by the ANC on the matter of Julius Malema's censure. On the one hand we have ANC deputy secretary general Thandi Modise saying charges against Malema are still being formulated; on the other, we purportedly have ANC Youth League officials saying that the charges have already been dropped. The ANC is once again clearly more interested in creating a smokescreen than actually following due process.

Indeed, Modise's own statement that Malema had already been exonerated of defying the President shows just how much of a ham-fisted job the ANC is doing with addressing Malema's behaviour. How is it that Modise can come to such a conclusion at such a formative stage of the ‘disciplinary process'? Likewise, how is it that the ANC can consider the Youth League's request to drop charges when Malema still has a case to answer?

Amidst all the confusion and contradiction, one thing is clear: the ANC has no intention of subjecting Julius Malema to a proper disciplinary hearing. Already Thandi Modise is defending him, already the ANC says they are considering a request to exonerate him, and already we have had reports that the ANC has already exonerated him. The ANC is clearly buckling under the pressure.

That in turn raises a very serious question about who is really in charge of the ANC. Is it Jacob Zuma? Is it Julius Malema? Or is there simply no-one home?

If the ANC now does go and formally drop their charges against Malema it will definitively expose Mr. Zuma for what he really is - a president who is unwilling to make principled decisions, unable to confront rogue elements inside his own party, unable to demonstrate any semblance of real leadership.

It will also expose yet further the true extent of the ANC's hypocrisy on Malema. In fact, one can't help asking, if the ANC does now buckle under the pressure, exactly what does Julius Malema have to do for the ANC to take action? Malema has jeopardised attempts at brokering a solution to the Zimbabwe crisis by attacking the MDC and backing Robert Mugabe. He has dragged this country's name through the mud by ejecting a BBC journalist from a press conference, and by hurling abusive language at him. He has abused state coffers and hampered service delivery through his crony tenderpreneurship practices in Limpopo. He has continued to practice racist, divisive, apartheid-era politics - to the extent that he has been singing songs calling for murder. The ANC's double standards are breathtaking. We already know there are one set of rules for the President, and another set for everyone else. It is quite clear now that the same goes for Malema.