The Ekurhuleni ordinary council meeting was not without drama at the OR Tambo Government Precinct on Wednesday as DA Ward 24 councillor Nicola Brigitte da Silva was kicked out of the chambers for refusing to take off the witch hat she wore.

Speaker of council Nthabiseng Tshivhenga ordered Da Silva to remove the hat, but she refused, claiming she was honouring her heritage and celebrating Halloween. Halloween is observed annually on October 31.

She said other councillors were allowed to wear Palestinian scarves at last week’s special council meeting.

All the DA councillors walked out of the council in solidarity. In a statement released by the DA’s chief whip in Ekurhuleni, Michael Waters, the party said they walked out of the council in defence of the Constitution of SA.

“The speaker tried to remove Da Silva for expressing her religious freedom. The right to freedom of religion is enshrined in the Constitution of SA, stipulating that everyone has the right to freedom of religion, belief, and opinion.

“However, in typical EFF fashion, the EFF speaker bemoaned that her ruling is final, essentially violating and undermining the Constitution of this country,” he said.

Waters added that the religious intolerance practised in the chambers was an assault on the Constitution, and the DA would not allow any person to abuse their position of power to trample on the beliefs and rights of an individual.

The party condemned the behaviour of the EFF councillors who reportedly chanted and hurled ‘hate speech’ at Da Silva.

“Everyone has inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity respected and protected, as enshrined in the Bill of Rights. We will report the EFF-appointed speaker to the Ethics and Integrity Committee for a full investigation into her unconstitutional ruling,” added Waters.