Ntuli questions challenges to report that cleared her of breaching DA policy

FORMER DA youth leader Mbali Ntuli says she is curious to know what aspects weren’t investigated in the report that cleared her of charges of breaching the party’s social media policy when “liking” a Facebook post calling Premier Helen Zille a racist.

This comes after the party’s Federal Executive (FedEX) asked its Federal Legal Commission (FLC) to look into aspects not dealt with during its investigation into the matter.

Reports at the weekend said provincial acting DA leader Bonginkosi Madikizela, who laid the complaint against Ntuli, was not happy with they way the charges against Ntuli were drafted and investigated.

But Madikizela disputed this, saying it was the FedEX that referred the matter back for further investigation. This was despite the party reaching a compromise with Zille over her controversial tweets about colonialism.

The report, compiled by DA FLC member Alan McLoughlin into the Ntuli matter, had found no evidence to support an allegation that Ntuli’s actions “publicly opposed the party’s principles or repeatedly opposed published party policies”.

When approached for comment yesterday, Ntuli said: “I’m curious to know what things weren’t investigated and if they plan to recharge me for new things, but I look forward to finally getting an answer so I can resolve this matter.”

The FLC report said there was also no direct evidence to suggest that Ntuli’s post was insulting, derogatory, insensitive or unnecessarily offensive.

Yesterday, McLoughlin said: “It (the report) went to FedEx and FedEx was not quite happy with the investigation. Now they have just referred it back to us and said we must investigate further. We haven’t had the opportunity to do that. But it will still happen.”

McLoughlin would not say whether there would be changes to his initial report.

Madikizela said: “Once the matter is in the hands of the FLC, we must not speculate what will be the outcome of that. We can comment on it once the FLC presents it to us. FedEX, not me, felt there were things that were not looked at.”

DA MP James Selfe, however, said the original complainant, Madikizela, said that the FLC had not correctly encapsulated the original complaint he had made.