De Lille triumphs, again
Steenhuisen report was the foundation of DA’s campaign to oust her
FORMER Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille yesterday claimed another victory over the DA after it was revealed the party abandoned its controversial Steenhuisen report.
The DA confirmed yesterday that it no longer would use the report to pursue charges of maladministration.
De Lille had taken the party and its report for review to the Western Cape High Court earlier this year.
The court on Tuesday this week granted an order by agreement in which the DA abandoned all of the Steenhuisen report’s findings against De Lille.
De Lille said yesterday this was vindication in her pursuit to “clear my name and another pillar of DA deceit has just collapsed”.
The Steenhuisen report was the foundation for the DA’s campaign to oust De Lille from her seat at the helm of the City.
It is named after the DA’s chief whip in parliament, John Steenhuisen, who chaired the hearings that led to the report being authored. The party’s federal executive committee adopted the report in December 2017.
De Lille’s former spokesperson Solly Malatsi, currently the DA’s national spokesperson, yesterday said the party may have abandoned the report but has “always stood by the findings”.
De Lille yesterday said the DA’s dismissal of the report was in line with the court’s previous findings that the party’s internal processes against her were flawed.
“Another false concoction to damage my name and reputation has collapsed as they (DA) abandon the Steenhuisen committee findings against me,” said De Lille.
Malatsi said the DA “in the interest of people of Cape Town decided to end the long and protracted internal disciplinary action against Ms De Lille”.
“The tactics used by Ms De Lille in an effort to cover up corruption has been revealed in the Bowman’s report, which confirms the Steenhuisen findings,” he added.
The Bowman’s report is an investigation into De Lille’s leadership as mayor and makes various allegations against her.
De Lille has also taken the Bowman’s report to the Western Cape High Court for review and have it set aside.
In a related matter, the five DA councillors who resigned from the City and left the DA a week before De Lille’s resignation yesterday announced their lawyers have “served summons on (DA leader Mmusi) Maimane in which we are each claiming damages in the amount R1-million from him”.
This was “after Maimane failed to unequivocally withdraw his false statements against us, and to issue a public apology”.
Former DA chief whip Shaun August along with former councillors Suzette Little, Siyabulela Mamkeli, Gregchan Barnardo and Thulani Stemele said yesterday “Maimane made defamatory remarks in Limpopo in the presence of the public and the media in which he claimed that we were implicated in the Bowman’s report and that we were covering up corruption in the City of Cape Town”.