DA hunts for spies within
THE DA is on a witch-hunt to find out who within its ranks leaked information on party leader Mmusi Maimane’s wish to become Western Cape premier. One of the main suspects is DA Western Cape leader Bonginkosi Madikizela, who is also one of the candidates for the position.
The investigation is being led by DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach, the chairperson of its federal legal commission.
Asked for comment, Madikizela said he wasn’t worried.
“I am always on record when I speak to the media. This everyone knows. I will not be handing over any cellphone or communication device. While I am fully contributing to this investigation, I will not be handing over anything because I believe that there are more serious issues, like focusing on the elections,” he said.
A week ago, Maimane “nominated” himself as a candidate to be the province’s number one citizen.
The decision caused a rift in the party, while experts and opposition parties described the move as “desperate”.
Maimane later withdrew his “nomination” and announced Western Cape MEC for Economic Opportunities Alan Winde as the party’s premier candidate.
Madikizela was the only DA leader who was strongly against Maimane’s “nomination”.
“I speak my mind on issues that don’t sit well with me. I don’t know what the outcome will be of this investigation, and quite frankly it doesn’t matter. I am not having sleepless nights about this. We should be more focused on the elections to ensure that we stay in power here in the Western Cape,” Madikizela said.
Breytenbach said she was leading an investigation into the matter. She however referred all queries to the party’s federal executive.
DA national spokesperson Solly Malatsi said: “The federal executive has been concerned about the leaking of confidential information from meetings of different structures for some time. Given that there was leaking of the scores and ranking of candidates for the premier, which has a serious impact on our internal processes for selecting candidates for public office, the federal executive requested the commission to institute a probe.”