Controversial uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) Youth League leader, Bonginkosi Khanyile, has been fired from his position. In a short media statement this morning, the party's secretary-general Sihle Ngubane said Khanyile will now become an ordinary member of the organisation.

Ngubane also said that Khanyile was being removed from his position with immediate effect. "You are hereby removed from the position of National Coordinator of the MKYL, this removal is effective from today. Your role going forward will be a normal member of the MKYL, you will be notified of your redeployment in due course," the statement reads.

Khanyile is known for being in the forefront of the July 2021 unrest. He was charged with incitement of violence as well as contravening the Disaster Management Act. He is out on bail and will stand trial from 3-14 June at the Durban Magistrates Court. Recently, he was in the spotlight after he said he was willing to be arrested and threatened violence if MK and former president Jacob Zuma were not on the ballot paper. In 2019, when he was still a student at the University of KwaZulu Natal, he was arrested for being an instigator during the Fees Must Fall protests. He was sentenced to a suspended five years, and he was ordered to pay R5 000 fine.