PATRICIA DE LILLE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE FOR MISCONDUCT, BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION
The governing party in South Africa's Western Cape and the city of Cape Town has made it abundantly clear that it wants the leader of the now-deceased Independent Democrats to be kicked out. As Patricia de Lille prepares to exit the DA, she made it clear that she would go down kicking and screaming after she posted a video on Twitter on Wednesday night wearing boxing gloves and throwing air-punches to show that she's serious.
She claimed that she would use the full extent of the DA's internal processes to fight her dismissal but was too late as the Democratic Alliance's (DA) Cape Town caucus voted in favour of a motion of no confidence in her. She said in her video: "This fight that I am having with the Democratic Alliance is like a boxing fight – you win one round, you lose one round. But in the end what is important is whose going to give the knockout.”
De Lille said that she had also asked for examples of where she made statements which brought this party into disgrace and reminded the party that every statement she had made about the allegations against her had been in response to comments made by other DA members. De Lille claims that the allegations are damaging her name, integrity and reputation, and that she was not allowed to defend herself in public. "I also reminded the DA councillors that the Bill of Rights in our country’s Constitution guarantees our freedom of speech. It is clear that councillors voted with their stomachs and represented their jackets. I asked councillors whether they discussed the motion of no confidence and whether they had a mandate from their branches," she said.
Last month, De Lille told the public that she would insist on having her disciplinary hearing open to the public and that if the request to have an open hearing was unsuccessful, she would request the panel to delay the hearing so that she can advance to court to put forward her application for an open hearing. She said that she wanted members of the public to decide individually whether the charges were justified as they were charges of a technical nature, confirming that she had not been charged with corruption. She was accused by the DA’s federal executive of interfering in staff selection processes, and condoning and covering up maladministration. However, she has received support from the coloured community and would, therefore, help to solidify the DA's support base in the Western Cape, completely taking over the ANC.
De Lille has officially been charged with misconduct, bribery and corruption charges by the DA. In a statement on Wednesday, DA deputy chairperson of the federal council, Natasha Mazzone said 97 councillors voted for the motion, 41 voted against, 15 abstained or were absent and there was one spoilt ballot. Mazzone said: "It is clear that an overwhelming 70 percent of the councillors in the caucus have expressed that they have lost confidence in Ms De Lille’s leadership. The Federal Executive will now provide Ms de Lille with the opportunity to make submissions as to why she should not step down. The FedEx will then deliberate on the submission and come to a decision on how to proceed which could include the fact that Ms de Lille will be asked to resign, in line with the Accountability clause. Despite numerous claims to the contrary, the Accountability Clause which was formally adopted the DA’s Federal Congress is not about de Lille."