Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille, has won her court case against the Democratic Alliance (DA), after the Western Cape High Court ruled that the political party’s retraction of her membership was “unlawful and invalid”.
De Lille approached the court after her membership was rescinded in May, when she indicated that she would resign from the party during a radio interview.
After the ruling, De Lille said that her victory is not only for herself, but for the people of Cape Town.
“I have always maintained that every person in our country is innocent until proven guilty,” she said.
The crux of De Lille’s case is that the DA acted in bad faith when it used the clause to expel her from the party in May. She also argues that the clause is in contravention of various sections of the Constitution, most specifically Section 3.5.1.2 of the DA’s Constitution.
Natasha Mazzone, DA Deputy Chairperson of Federal Council, said the DA will study the judgement and consider further legal options. This may include the possibility of an appeal.
“We are committed to putting the people of Cape Town first and will seek to do so at every turn,” Mazzone said in a statement.
She also maintains that the DA caucus has lost faith in De Lille and have expressed this in a vote of no confidence on two occasions.
“It stated that her leadership style was divisive, autocratic and made it difficult for councillors to carry out their duties and effectively serve the people of Cape Town and drive service delivery.”
When De Lille appeared in court on 4 June, her legal representative, Advocate Dali Mpofu, made it clear that De Lille would resign as Mayor of Cape Town once her name had been cleared.
….I feel energised, now more than ever before to continue fighting to bring change to the lives of the poor and marginalised in cape town.
This is the promise that i made in 2016, and the court has today supported me in my quest to continue working to deliver that promise. pic.twitter.com/MdrauwsSuw
— Patricia de Lille (@PatriciaDeLille) June 27, 2018
Picture: Twitter