The ANCWL has denied that it was chased away from Marikana on Tuesday, when it accompanied ANC presidential hopeful Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to the koppie where the Marikana massacre occurred in 2012. Dlamini-Zuma was due to lay a wreath at the site where police gunned down 34 miners.
The SABC reported on Wednesday that the ANCWL blamed the incident on "media sensation", denying that Dlamin-Zuma was shunned.
Dlamini-Zuma's visit was preceded by a visit to the Brits municipality. She was escorted to the koppie by at least eight blue-light vehicles and at least a dozen more cars carrying ANCWL members.
A delegation from the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) stopped Dlamini-Zuma and her entourage from entering the site and laying the wreath.
Marikana activist Napoleon Webster said they could not allow Dlamini-Zuma to exploit the tragedy.
"She is trying to use our pain to pave her way to the presidency, just like Cyril Ramaphosa did," he said.
"We cannot allow her to come her and use us when it's convenient for her."
Dlamini-Zuma did not even exit her vehicle before the entourage sped off, five minutes after arriving at the site.
But the ANCWL now denies that they were chased away from the site, despite heavy media presence who witnessed the furore, the SABC reported on Wednesday morning.
ANCWL secretary-general Meokgo Matuba also reportedly said the league would try to meet with AMCU to sort out their differences.
"We were not rejected or chased out as the leadership of the ANC as it has been reported on media, that has never happened, it's a media sensation. We have engaged, we have agreed that there will be a broader consultation with members of Amcu because we were consulting other people, the province will definitely agree with me on the issue of consultation."