The writing is on the wall for Mmusi Maimane.
Maimane came under fire recently after reports, in all likelihood leaked from inside the DA, that his Cape Town home - which he at first claimed he owned - was rented from a benefactor, and that his Sport Utility Vehicle was owned by disgraced former Steinhoff boss Markus Jooste.
The irony is that while the DA and Maimane were campaigning against corruption and state capture, he was driving around in a vehicle owned by a man who had almost single-handedly collapsed one of the largest South African conglomerates, wiping close to R12 billion from the Public Investment Corporation’s books.
The reports, on successive weekends, came with the precision of laser-guided missile strikes.
Obviously this was co-ordinated from within the DA to cause maximum destruction, similar to the tactics used to dislodge former Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille, until she finally raised the white flag.
The DA is scheduled to hold a federal council meeting later this month, closer to the date a challenger might emerge for Maimane’s mantle.
After the 2016 local government elections, the DA had to go into “partnership” with the EFF, which lent its electoral support to keep the ANC from power in Joburg and Tshwane.
What has become apparent is that for the EFF’s support, the DA had to turn a blind eye to tender corruption, which has lined the pockets of EFF leaders.
When his predecessor and former Western Cape premier Helen Zille tweeted about the positive aspects of colonialism - never mind the death, destruction and theft which accompanied it - Maimane’s impotence was laid bare and he could not rein her in.
While she has stepped away from the DA, Zille still represents a sizeable constituency in the party.
In May, some voters abandoned the DA and voted for the Freedom Front Plus, perhaps as a response to Maimane’s push for reform within the ranks of the party and its lukewarm reaction to the issues that the Afrikaner-dominated Solidarity union are most passionate about - Afrikaans and employment equity/affirmative action.
What all this tells us is that despite being the DA leader, Maimane is not really in charge of the party, and it’s only a matter of time before he is dispensed with.