Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance (DA) has slammed the Western Cape High Court's decision to reinstate Patricia de Lille as Cape Town mayor, saying it "is not in the best interests of Cape Town".
On Tuesday, Judge Patrick Gamble ruled that De Lille be reinstated as mayor, however she will be disciplined and follow the mandate of the DA.
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De Lille headed to the courts on May 11 to challenge Section 3.5.1.2 of the DA’s constitution, which states that “a member ceases to be a member of the party when he or she publicly declares his or her intention to resign and or publicly declares his or her resignation from the party”.
This rule was used to oust De Lille as mayor and from the party after she said in an interview with Eusebius McKaiser on 702 Radio that she would resign from the country's second biggest party as soon as she had cleared her name in a bitter dispute with its leadership.
Shortly after the ruling on Tuesday DA Deputy Chairperson of Federal Council Natasha Mazzone said: "It is unfortunate that Ms De Lille continues to put her individual interests above those of the citizens of Cape Town by using legal technicalities to cling on to power.
"In true Zuma-like-style, De Lille is now clearly clinging onto power for power itself. She has long forgotten the people who have voted for the party that she once represented. She is now clearly on only one mission - to destroy anyone and anything that will seek to hold her accountable for her actions."
The DA reiterated that it will not "relent in our mission to put Cape Town first" and vowed to keep "maladministration and misconduct" out of the Mayoral Office.
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