Mazibuko gets tongues wagging
Rubs shoulders with Ramaphosa at ANC do
in her own right. She does a lot of networking. I’m neither surprised, nor concerned,” said Selfe.
Former DA leader and Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, who recruited Mazibuko, would not comment on the latest sighting of her former protégé, instead she left cryptic messages on her Whatsapp status.
But a senior DA MP who spoke to Independent media on condition of anonymity said he was disappointed at Mazibuko’s presence at the event.
He, however, said the party would respect her position if she were to join the ANC.
But in a later tweet Mazibuko clarified that despite her fondness for Ramaphosa, she was not joining the ANC.
Another DA MP, who had been an aide to Mazibuko when she was parliamentary leader, said she was free to make whatever political choices suited her, “but it would have been a lot more palatable if it was a government event. It was a little bit of a shock.”
One other DA MP who had served under Mazibuko said many of those in the party were surprised and Thursday night’s picture of her, seated next to Lamola, spread like wildfire on several party Whatsapp groups.
“The first tweet (from Mazibuko) was a bit mischievous,” said the MP.
Within the DA there is widespread speculation that Mazibuko is contemplating a return to Parliament and will subject herself to the party’s selection process for prospective MPS which is currently under way.
A DA leader in Kwazulunatal was supportive of Mazibuko saying that she had never been invited to address party platforms.
“People were panicking on Thursday night, that’s why she had to clarify (that she had not joined the ANC). They are just worried that she’s competition for them on the party’s list to Parliament,” said the DA leader.
During a panel discussion on the role of business in South Africa last year‚ Mazibuko said she supported the then presidential hopeful Ramaphosa to win the ANC elective conference.
Mazibuko left the DA in 2014 to further her studies at Harvard where she obtained a master’s degree in public administration.
When she resigned, some of leaders hailed her resignation as a blessing in disguise to save the party from a battle for the position of a parliamentary leader. At that time, current DA leader Mmusi Maimane and Mazibuko were gunning for the position of parliamentary leader in the party.
Mazibuko announced her resignation in an interview with the Sunday Times before she told Zille, who was at that time DA party leader.