This was after ANC councillor Doctor Xhakaza, MMC for water and energy, accused black members of the DA of being ”fronts”.
Xhakaza said it was a matter of ”fact” that the DA would ”bring back apartheid”.
DA chief whip André du Plessis raised an objection to the comments by way of point of order.
The Speaker, Patricia Kumalo, told the DA not to complain because it was a political debate.
DA councillors then left the council meeting.
Fortune Mahano, DA caucus leader, said the party decided to walk out because it could not tolerate being attacked in such a manner.
“The DA sees this unashamed racism in an extremely serious light,” he added.
“In the past, the Speaker has ruled the DA out of order for using words like ‘nonsense’ and ‘waffle’ during the political debate as offensive language.”
The party believes the Speaker doesn’t understand her role and cannot be objective.
Mahano said this is not the first time the DA has called for the removal of the Speaker.
“Every member of the DA is elected into their positions based solely on merit, regardless of their race and gender,” he added.
The party is baffled about why some members of the public and the ANC would believe that the DA would bring back any form of apartheid.
“The party has proven through years of service that it is liberal and believes only in an opportunity for all,” said Mahano.
“The DA reveres the constitution and abides by its rule of law and the legislation – the party could not bring back apartheid-style laws.”
