Is the Democratic Alliance (DA) busy crumbling like the once-great Colosseum in Rome? This comes after yet another member has stepped away from the political party. Phumzile Van Damme resigned as a member of Parliament and from the DA on Thursday, May 20. However, the flamboyant former DA MP tweeted on Friday indicating that she was not resigning from the country’s opposition party.

As reported by SABC, Van Damme took to Twitter to announce the news indicating that her decision was very difficult and she chose to leave the party with a heavy heart. It is alleged that she leaves the party due to a clique of individuals rather than it being a “racist” organisation.

Her resignation comes as no surprise as she has had several run-ins with the party’s leadership under John Steenhuisen. Van Damme was removed as the party’s shadow minister of communications in 2020. Former MEC for Transport and DA leader in the Western Cape, Bonginkosi Madikizela also resigned from the party in April 2021, amid the furore over his qualifications on his CV. Meanwhile, DA spokesperson Siviwe Gwarube said that the party had received and accepted Van Damme’s resignation, IOL reports. “The DA has received and accepted the resignation of Phumzile Van Damme as a Member of Parliament and from the Party. We extend our best wishes to Phumzile and thank her for her extraordinary service to the DA in Parliament and by extension, to the party,” the party said in a statement.


Some Twitter reactions following Van Damme’s resignation.

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Picture: Twitter/ @SkyeGrove

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