Zille faces DA music today

COLONIALISM: APPEARS REGARDING HER TWEETS

Maimane says today is just the preliminary probe.

Western Cape Premier and former Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille is to appear before the party’s federal legal commission today for utterances she made on social media related to colonialism in South Africa.

Zille came under fire for her recent tweets in which she asked that if colonialism had not taken place, would there been progressiveness in the country.

“For those claiming legacy of colonialism was ONLY negative, think of our independent judiciary, transport infrastructure, piped water,” she said. “Would we have had a transition into specialised health care and medication without colonial influence? Just be honest, please.”

She later said: “Getting onto an plane and won’t get onto the Wi-Fi so that I can cut off those who think EVERY aspect of colonial legacy was bad.”

Later apologising for the post, Zille said her utterances “may have come across as a defence of colonialism”. “It was not,” she added. DA leader Mmusi Maimane yesterday declined to comment on the matter.

“[Saturday] is just the preliminary investigation process,” he said.

Following Zille’s tweets, Maimaine took to the social network, stating: “Let’s make this clear: Colonialism, like apartheid, was a system of oppression and subjugation. It can never be justified.”

Zille, in turn, retweeted Maimane, who took over as leader from her after being elected in 2015.

DA’s Glynnis Breytenbach, who is responsible for the investigation into Zille’s tweet, said the party’s federal executive council would make the decision on what is to happen next.