DURBAN - BLACK DA leaders in KwaZulu-Natal have described the controversial remarks made by former party leader Tony Leon as “offensive” and damaging to the party’s brand.
Some leaders, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said the remarks had given life to the narrative that the DA was a racist party that lacked commitment to the country’s transformation agenda.
They were reacting to Leon’s utterances in an interview on his latest book, Future Tense, where he described Mmusi Maimane, the party’s first black leader, as an “experiment that went wrong”.
The remarks have sparked a debate about race relations within the party and the value attached to black leaders.
Maimane took exception to being called an experiment, describing it as “dehumanising”.
He told the SABC that the journey to a non-racial South Africa was going to be long and hard because there were people who kept referring to others as experiments.
However, Leon defended himself, saying the term was not derogatory but based on a textbook definition of the word “experiment” which means trying something new.
“On the day he arrived in Parliament, he was elected immediately as leader of the opposition; this was the first time ever that someone was made a leader on the day he arrived in Parliament, and to that extent it was an experiment, something different, original, which is a definition according to (Collins dictionary) of what an experiment is,” he said.
One party leader in KwaZulu-Natal, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the statement labelled Maimane as a token placed there by a group of people. “Leon has a right to his views, but the statement he made was unfortunate,” he said. “I still believe there is space for black people and the party still subscribes to the principle of non-racism. But statements from senior leaders like Leon reinforce the notion that is spread by our opponents, that the DA is a racist party.”
Former DA leader in KZN Zwakele Mncwango said the remarks were offensive to all black leaders.
“In the political context, the remarks were offensive – as political leaders, we are elected by delegates and this implies that he was put there by someone.
“I was a leader and I would be offended if someone came to me now and said I was an experiment. This is offensive to all black leaders, this questions whether they were in those positions because of their abilities or as part of an experiment,” he said.
Mncwango said Leon’s view should be seen as an individual view and not be ascribed to the party, adding that many black leaders had a future in the party.
Political analyst Thabani Khumalo said the remarks could be construed as racist; they however spoke to what the DA represented. He said in a political sense, Maimane was an experiment that failed, in that he did not stick to the ideology or the objectives of the DA.
The DA was formed to protect the interests of white business, minorities and the black minority elite, he said.
“It’s possible he had ambitions of being the president of the country and he encroached on the ANC space, taking the party to rural areas and shacks, areas that the party had no interest in,” Khumalo said.
Ryan Smith, the chief of staff of the DA federal leader, said they would not be commenting on the matter.
THE MERCURY