De Lille angry as case is postponed
Member of panel in misconduct hearing withdraws, meaning that replacement must be found
With legal bills mounting for Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille, her disciplinary hearing was on Thursday postponed again after the withdrawal of a member of the panel hearing her case.
With legal bills mounting for Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille, her disciplinary hearing was on Thursday again postponed following the withdrawal of a member of the panel hearing her case.
De Lille vented her frustration after hearing of the postponement after panellist Pogiso Monchusi withdrew. A replacement would have to be found and the hearing would have to start all over again, she said.
“So really it is a waste of time. I have to pay my lawyers. So we didn’t get to the debate to make this hearing open. We just feel like going straight to court.
“We have been asking for the recusal of two members [Monchusi and Sheila Camerer] since Tuesday. We continued until one of the panel members decided to recuse himself this morning,” she said.
DA federal council chairman James Selfe said the hearing would resume as soon as a new panellist was found.
The withdrawal of Monchusi should not be construed as an admission of wrongdoing on his part, Selfe said.
“He made it clear that he was withdrawing solely to avoid any potential risk to the proceedings‚ subsequent to arguments being presented by Ms De Lille’s legal representative with regard to a recusal application.
“Advocate Monchusi chose to withdraw even before any argument was presented by the party‚ in what was clearly a decision to not unnecessarily risk a delay in proceedings at a future date,” Selfe said.
“The arguments presented in respect of Ms Sheila Camerer recusing herself were heard by the panel but not yet answered by the party‚ as a result of advocate Monchusi’s withdrawal.”
The hearing was supposed to have started on Tuesday but has been bogged down by technicalities and squabbles about procedure.
De Lille has been formally charged with misconduct by her party’s federal executive.
She is facing charges of bringing the DA into disrepute for her role in ructions in the City of Cape Town‚ which include allegations that she instructed that a report detailing alleged corruption be buried.
De Lille was living on borrowed time in her job after her party instituted a motion of no confidence against her‚ which failed after opposition parties and rebel councillors voted against it.
Political analysts Somadoda Fikeni and Susan Booysen believe that De Lille’s time with the DA may have come to an end even if she is not found guilty by the disciplinary hearing.
Fikeni said: “If you are disavowed by the leadership‚ by your provincial colleagues‚ there can be no clearer signal that it’s time up.”
“(There could be) a rupture‚ which will be harmful for the DA‚ a rupture which will be harmful for Patricia de Lille and probably impact on Mmusi Maimane‚ because this becomes a serious test of his leadership‚” said Fikeni.
The line between the allegations against De Lille and the political expression of no confidence had now become mixed up , he said
Booysen said “too much bad blood has passed” in De Lille’s relationship with her party and if anything positive emerged‚ it would take a long time to reverse the damage.
IT IS A WASTE OF TIME. I HAVE TO PAY MY LAWYERS. WE JUST FEEL LIKE GOING STRAIGHT TO COURT