The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) on Tuesday accused the ANC Women's League of "paralysis" over the issue of President Thabo Mbeki's successor.

ANCYL president Fikile Mbalula also said the women's league was out of order by criticising the ANC youth for expressing its support for Deputy President Jacob Zuma to succeed Mbeki.

"The women's league has been very public about their support for the succession of Madiba to somebody else," Mbalula told students at Witwatersrand University. "Today, they are paraplegic, they are paralysed, they don't know what to say."

The ANC Woman's League on Sunday decided not to endorse a candidate. President Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said at the league's lekgotla in Boksburg the youth league had jumped the gun by coming out in support of Zuma at this stage.

On Tuesday, Mbalula angrily rejected the women's league "attack on another structure of the ANC in public". He added: "The fact that people want to be holy cows at a critical moment will not make us keep quiet about our position." "Faceless" people wanted to force the ANC not to support Zuma before the end of the trial of Zuma's former financial advisor, Schabir Shaik.

However, no-one should be judged until they had been tried and found guilty, said Mbalula. And, the individual before the court in this matter was not Zuma at all. It was Shaik.

Mbalula said even the judge hearing the case, Justice Hillary Squires, had made it clear the deputy president was not on trial. Shaik is accused of allegedly trying to solicit a bribe for Zuma from an arms company in exchange for protection in the probe into irregularities in South Africa's multi-billion rand arms deal. "If Schabir Shaik is innocent, what happens? Is the Deputy President innocent?" Mbalula asked.

There were people who would find him not fit to run the country should there be a judgment against Shaik. The ANCYL's support of Zuma was "unconditional". "We believe in Zuma 100 percent... The ANCYL knows Comrade Jacob Zuma. That's why we don't say 80 or 90, we say 100 percent."

Mbalula said there could only be debate about changing the ANC's succession plan if there was a "fundamental reason", such as the death of a nominee. "The ANC is not an organisation of surprise leaders."

Anonymous analysts trying to sway the ANC's political mind could pray for the candidates they wanted to see in power -- "but we don't want them". "Their time will come... One leader at a time. Zuma is coming and it's his time, and we understand that," Mbalula said.

With acknowledgement to Sapa.