#HelenZille responds: The DA is trying to expel me

Helen Zille leads the way.The DA took to the streets and marched to parliament today. File Picture: Courtney Africa/Independent Media

Helen Zille leads the way.The DA took to the streets and marched to parliament today. File Picture: Courtney Africa/Independent Media

Published Jun 7, 2017

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Western Cape Premier Helen Zille has refused to step down as premier in a letter to the DA's Federal Executive chairperson, James Selfe.

In a letter shared on social media, which expresses disappointment at her suspension from party activities, the former leader of the DA said she had been defamed during the saga over her colonialism tweets and pointed to an 'organised campaign' within the party to have her removed as Premier.

She said she felt as if the party was punishing her for refusing to resign as Western Cape premier.

"The formal attempts to resolve the matter that you refer to, have all involved the condition that I resign as premier, or plead guilty to an offence through apologizing for offences I did not commit, which would open the way for my expulsion from the party. It would also have serious implications for two other litigation processes that my office is currently engaged in opposing," she said.

"I clearly cannot be expected to incriminate myself in that way, especially in the light of the precedent set by the party in a previous case," she said.

The DA announced late on Wednesday afternoon that it had suspended Zille from party activities pending her disciplinary hearing, which is expected to commence on Friday.

Zille said in her nine page document released late on Wednesday: "There have been several attempts over the last few weeks to force me to resign immediately, before a hearing takes place. Now that I have made it quite clear that I will not, and after the party has delayed for over a month in giving me the further particulars that I requested to prepare my case, the Fedex has decided to suspend me.

"I regard this as a form of punishment for my insistence that we follow due process, and the decision is hence unlawful," she said.

The former party leader said she had not breached her oath of office and to her mind, nothing she done warranted her resignation from the office of the premier.

“Hence, I regard the attempts to 'resolve' the matter on that basis as not being bona fide efforts to do so. They were attempts to punish me without a hearing, after the leader had pronounced on my guilt in advance in public,” she said.

Zille also fired back and accused fellow members of the DA of leaking “misinformation” to the media and said she believed her suspension from party activities would in fact open up the DA for embarrassment.

“I submit that it could be severely prejudicial because as premier of the (Western Cape) province, I have to be able to caucus with my colleagues in the Western Cape, and a failure to do so could result in embarrassment to the party in the legislature and would severely retard my ability to lead the Western Cape government successfully in the build up to the next elections.

“In addition, the successes that we have achieved in the province provide an excellent platform for our 2019 campaign. Excluding me from sharing this within the party and the public will, in fact, have a negative effect on the party’s performance in 2019,” she said.

Zille has questioned if the party could afford her fair hearing, citing recent remarks by members of the Fedex.

DA has suspended me. They have agreed I can share my reasons why I should not have been suspended. Here they are: https://t.co/6h6MqdjrOL

— Helen Zille (@helenzille) June 7, 2017

SUNDAY TRIBUNE

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