Five ex-DA councillors target Maimane for alleged defamation
The group said they have given Maimane until 6pm on Monday to comply, or face legal action.
Shaun August. Picture: Facebook.
Five former Democratic Alliance members have announced that they have instructed an attorney to institute action against DA leader Mmusi Maimane.
The members want Maimane to withdraw comments made suggesting their resignations were because they were implicated in the Bowmans report.
At a press briefing hosted by the five former members on Sunday, Shawn August, Suzette Little, Siya Mamkeli, Thulani Stemele and Greg Bernado made the announcement, to take on the DA leader.
Little dismissed allegations that their exit was a result of the Bowmans report.
“Now let me just state that this report has been coming on since last year, when the council decided that there had to be an investigation. At no time was any one of the five mentioned, at no time was any of the five interviewed. At no time were we accused of any corruption or any participation.”
Maimane has been reported to have claimed the five resigned after being implicated in corruption.
The DA leader was in Polokwane, Limpopo, to launch the party’s Team One campaign and to submit a memorandum of demands to the Limpopo Economic Development Agency regarding the Makhado Musina special economic zone on Friday.
In his response to questions related to the five, Maimane said the five were implicated in the report.
He dismissed claims of racism made by the former members and said those allegations were a deflection.
Little has spoken out about racism in the party.
She told radio station Power FM that when the issue against Cape Town mayor Patricia De Lille started 15 months ago, she and a few members of the DA held a meeting with DA MP James Selfe exposing the alleged level of racism, and nothing was done.
The former DA chief whip August allegedly wrote to the DA numerous times raising issues of a minority that was protected at the expense of a black majority within the party and that nothing was being done about it, according to the radio station.
August and the other four resigned shortly after De Lille defended herself against allegations of corruption in council.
– gopolangc@citizen.co.za
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
