Business Day

Zille reveals true feelings

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“If you really want the return of all the old abominatio­ns of the past, just have a little patience and you’ll be witness to new abominatio­ns which, perhaps, will be even more abominable than the old abominatio­ns,” says Alexander Zinoviev in his novel The Madhouse.

Are we witnessing the return of apartheid dirty tricks and a climate of fear under the current ANC leadership?

For me the worst abominatio­n is Premier Helen Zille singing the praises of colonialis­m. It is an insult to those of us who saw Zille as a symbol of a new SA — a white woman who transcende­d the race politics of this country, the modern Beyers Naude.

She fooled me into believing she embraced the vision of Nelson Mandela and Helen Suzman. Her autobiogra­phy, Not Without a Fight, made the right noises saying “our constituti­on is not a colonial imposition”. This is the Zille I supported.

For her to turn around and say colonialis­m was a gift to the oppressed. What happened? Does she really mean it? Or is she bored and craves attention? Does she miss being in the spotlight? Or is she deliberate­ly underminin­g the new DA leadership?

But I should have seen the warning signs. I must tread carefully here, Zille does not take kindly to criticism. I remember how she crucified political analyst Eusebius Mckaiser.

Her response to the DA’s criticism speaks volumes about her apology. In the words of Zinoviev, she is in “defence of impure reason”.

How can someone defend colonialis­m in 2017? Former Sunday Times editor Mondli Makhanya fired the brilliant David Bullard for echoing similar sentiments.

A defence of colonialis­m cannot be defined as freedom of speech. As a product of Sol Plaatje’s Native Life in South Africa, I find it offensive.

If Zille believes this colonialis­m claptrap then it makes sense when she said she “made Lindiwe Mazibuko”, as it was alleged. Only a colonialis­t mindset will harbour such thoughts.

What does it say about the DA if its black leader is portrayed as a laboratory creation from a colonialis­t experiment?

Zille’s comments are a game-changer to me. A Lance Armstrong moment — a lie that masquerade­d as a truth for years.

Dr Lucas Ntyintyane via e-mail

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