Ousted Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille says the DA’s decision to kick her out of the party is an admission that it did not have sufficient evidence for her disciplinary hearing.
As in most divorces‚ a bruising court battle is looming after De Lille lodged papers in the Cape Town High Court in an attempt to save her mayoral chain. The matter will be heard on Friday morning.
She wants to interdict the city manager from announcing a vacancy – which will pave the way for a new mayor to be elected – as well as the Independent Electoral Commission and the DA.
De Lille and the DA have been communicating through lawyers for some time. She already has two matters in the high court related to her disciplinary hearing. She wants to compel the party to release the evidence it relied on to charge her‚ including a 30-page letter written by Cape Town councillor JP Smith complaining about her alleged misconduct.
However, political analyst Keith Gottschalk said De Lille made a “serious technical error by saying that she is going to resign from the party” in a radio interview, because it was clear the DA no longer wanted her.
Gottschalk said the “marriage between her and the DA is over” and the litigation might not yield much for De Lille.
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