Social media users have accused the ANCYL of stealing a great South African moment.
The ANCYL has used the controversial fly-over at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town to promote its 82nd anniversary celebrations.
Their poster, which has been widely circulated on social media, shows two branded passenger jets flying low over what appears to be a stadium with the caption “82 years of youth activism, struggle, service and political education”.
𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐃𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐘𝐋 𝟖𝟐𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍!
82 years of youth activism, struggle, service and political education.#RoarYoungLions pic.twitter.com/duUEuhaNaz— ANCYL (@ANCYLhq)
September 1, 2026
But some social media users compared the ANCYL’s track record to the successful fly-over at the All Blacks vs Springboks match at DHL Stadium.
“You can’t pay bills at shebeens, mara you want to plagiarise a flypast. You’ve made it a norm to mock South Africans and our culture just for clout,” said one user.
Another added: “You are an enemy of the state and the people. Your complete downfall is near.”
“I’m sure you asked for R50m budget to recreate this image,” alleged a third.
User @Adam_Worldwide said: ” The only thing your government can create is AI pictures, not jobs.”
“If the ANCYL, based on their cringe leadership and worldview, flew those planes, they would have crashed into the stadium. You are really just a bunch of paper tigers and underachievers hiding behind your black privilege to virtue signal to your zombie supporters,” @Tacdan007 added.
@OnePablo20 agreed that the youth league should not attempt the same flyover at one of their celebrations.
“Don’t even attempt this. This one will fly straight into the crowd.”
Some social media users decided to recreate their own depiction of the flyover and offered it to the ANCYL.
— Miyandy (@Amahashi_)
September 1, 2026
There I fixed it for you pic.twitter.com/2cJsutzfOQ
— Gatvol (@gatvolofshit)
September 1, 2026
You left out the rest of the prompt. pic.twitter.com/bJF4p37QsP
— O & A (@rockhoney02)
September 1, 2026
Hey hey lona delete delete. This is you pic.twitter.com/Q3kbVMpARe
— Runge Kutta (Moitsanape) (@IzoMoi)
September 1, 2026
A source inside the organisation told* The Citizen* that the young lions are surprised by the amount of criticism they have received on social media.
The youth league will kick off its anniversary celebrations on 10 September with the Anton Lembede Memorial Lecture in the North-West. The mother body’s secretary-general Fikile Mbalula is also expected to address the gathering.
The official anniversary rally is expected to be held in the Eastern Cape in October, but a venue has not yet been confirmed.
The youth league was once an influential structure inside the ANC, but that power has since dwindled due to the factional battles of the ANC and a decline in support for the party.
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