Patricia de Lille claims in court papers that she is the victim of DA factionalism. The Cape Town mayor, whose membership of the DA has been terminated by the party, has instituted a two-part court challenge, which will be heard in the High Court in Cape Town on Friday. She wants to interdict the city from declaring a mayoral vacancy and is seeking to have the DA clause on "automatic cessation" of party membership declared invalid. In her court papers, De Lille says: "The leadership’s burning desire is to replace me as mayor with someone from the [councillor JP] Smith faction." De Lille and Smith had been fighting about an investigation of renovations done at the mayor’s house. That fight triggered events that led to the DA effectively expelling her on Tuesday. The renovations saga has been dubbed "the DA’s own Nkandla". De Lille argues in her legal papers that the DA had no interest in getting rid of her as a member and its leadership indicated it would arrange for her to serve in ...
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