CT chief whip August resigns, says DA bullied ‘De Lille faction’
August says the DA fought to get rid of De Lille without evidence and subjected him to two years of 'struggle, discrimination and double standards.'
Shaun August. Picture: Facebook.
In a long thread of tweets, the DA’s chief whip for the City of Cape Town Shaun August announced his resignation on Thursday.
De Lille gave her final speech as mayor in council this morning, and she was in a combative mood, threatening legal action against all of those in her party who had allegedly defamed her, particularly with allegations that she used council money to upgrade her house.
News of August’s resignation broke at the same time. Following this, a further four DA councilors resigned in solidarity, reportedly hugging De Lille as they left the council chambers. These include members of Cape Town’s mayoral committee Siya Samkeli and Suzette Little.
“I, Shaun August, hereby submit my letter of resignation as Chief Whip of the City of Cape Town Council, a Councillor in the City of Cape Town and a member of the Democratic Alliance (DA) effective immediately,” he tweeted.
“My decision does not come lightly considering the two years of struggle, discrimination and double standards that I have been subjected to by the DA,” he continues.
August alleges there was “a deliberate attempt to discredit and assassinate my character. I was subjected to 12 charges against me in one year, many of which were withdrawn due to lack of evidence.”
READ MORE: De Lille may not resign as mayor
According to August, a “shocking” attempt to remove him took place when the DA’s Steenhuisen Commission “took ad hoc statements from DA” councillors regarding tensions in the Cape Town Caucus and “overlooked” the evidence submitted by August himself.
“It was clear that the sub-committee had a pre-concluded outcome, considering that throughout my submission I was confronted with a list of false accusations without evidence or an opportunity to cross-examine those who laid the claims,” August tweeted.
He says the information submitted to the commission by himself and other members of the “De Lille faction” was not included in the resulting report.
August claims he was told to give reasons as to why he should not resign despite the fact that “there were never explicit findings” against him. He says the only wrongdoing he was accused of was being part of a De Lille-supporting “cabal.”
He adds that he did indeed submit reasons but was never asked to resign.
August claims the party tried to get rid of De Lille using “constitutional clauses” and “motions of no confidence” with “little to no evidence.”
He alleges that he and other DA members were subjected to “victimisation and intimidation” by their “own colleagues” in the DA for their decision to stick by De Lille.
I, Shaun August, hereby submit my letter of resignation as Chief Whip of the City of Cape Town Council, a Councillor in the City of Cape Town and a member of the Democratic Alliance (DA) effective immediately.
— Shaun August (@ShaunAugust1) October 25, 2018
(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
