Durban - The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has called for mass protests against the DA.
In a statement released on Friday, provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala said: “The racist statements crusade by Democratic Alliance leaders is spine-chilling.”
Meanwhile, under-fire MP Dianne Kohler Barnard faces anything from termination of membership, which was the most severe penalty, to being found to be unfit for public office, either indefinitely or for a set period, a fine, community service or a reprimand. If, that is, a panel of her peers finds her guilty on charges of flouting the DA’s social media policy and/or harming the interests of the party or bringing it into disrepute.
Chairperson of the DA federal executive James Selfe said on Friday if things went according to plan, a panel of the federal legal commission, to which DA leader Mmusi Maimane referred the matter, would begin hearing the case next Friday, depending whether or not Kohler Barnard wanted legal representation and, if so, whether that person was available.
Kohler Barnard sparked outrage by sharing a Facebook post calling for a return of apartheid tyrant PW Botha.
She apologised after former party leader Helen Zille called the message “indefensible”, but has received little sympathy from commentators and other political parties. She said she would resign if called on by her party to do so.
Selfe said the legal commission was a 30-person body elected by the federal council and disciplinary cases were heard by panels of between three and five people, chaired by a member with legal qualifications. DA spokeswoman on justice and former prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach chairs the commission.
The panel consists of people outside the province – Kohler Barnard is from KwaZulu-Natal – so it could “act as dispassionately as possible”, Selfe said.
Kohler Barnard’s case had been referred to the provincial disciplinary committee, often the first port of call in disciplinary matters, when Maimane decided to refer it to the federal legal commission, which he had the authority to do if he felt it was in the interests of justice.
“In this particular case, there is a social media policy that was accepted by the federal executive and it is misconduct if you fail to carry out a policy approved by a formation of the party, so that’s the one charge,” Selfe said.
“The second charge is for bringing the party into disrepute and harming the interests of the party.”
Any appeal would be heard by a different panel, Selfe said.
The SACP added its voice on Friday to those calling for Kohler Barnard’s head, saying she had “exposed the real character of the DA as a party of white privilege”.
“The DA will do all manner of things to try and pretend that Kohler Barnard’s actions are inconsistent with the character of that party, including a whitewash disciplinary process,” SACP spokesperson Alex Mashilo said.
He said she should be removed from Parliament as she did not deserve to be an MP in a democratic South Africa.
Independent on Saturday