The Veterans' League was founded in 2009 and held its inaugural national conference in early December 2009 in Esselen Park, Western Cape.
[2] Its formal objective is to ensure that these veterans "make a full and rich contribution to the work of the ANC, to the movement and to the life of the nation".
[2] Its foundation was viewed as continuous with a tradition, both within the ANC and within South African culture generally, of granting a special status and authority to elders.
[3] The league's first national elective conference, held in December 2009, elected the following veterans to top positions in the national leadership:[1][4] Former ANC president Nelson Mandela was the honorary life president of the league, in line with a special resolution taken by the inaugural conference.
Many of the veterans, including league president Sijake, were among those who criticised Zuma during the Nkandlagate scandal and thereafter.