The league said the camp would take place in August and would be expanded to include members from other parts of the Gauteng province.

JOHANNESBURG - The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in greater Johannesburg said it was preparing for a weekend camp where members would take part in military training and gun handling, among other activities.

The league said the camp would take place in August and would be expanded to include members from other parts of the Gauteng province.

ANCYL’s Bheki Nkutha spoke to 702, explaining why its members would receive military training at the camp.

“When you are in an organisation, you’ve got your own training and I believe that as part of that training… we need to understand what happens in the military.”

The ANCYL in greater Johannesburg said military training for its members was part of the ANC’s internal training programme.

Some ANCYL members may be fighting to reclaim and revitalise the soul of the youth movement after it was arguably left irrelevant by its incumbent leaders.

But others thought training in military gun handling and guerrilla tactics were also important.

Nkutha was asked why the league members needed to receive such training and he said: “Those are internal programmes; in your organisation, you’ve got your own training.”

He said there were people who would be training the young lions.

“The right people who are equipped will be coming to train and tell us what are the requirements you need to handle a gun and when things happens, how do you handle a gun.”

He couldn’t say what purpose this training was for.