DA civil war erupts as Western Cape congress leadership battle looms
Simmering animosities in the DA's Western Cape heartland have exploded into civil war. Party leader Mmusi Maimane's benching on Tuesday of Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille and a member of her executive, JP Smith, has focused attention on Saturday's congress to elect a new provincial leader. Maimane's action against De Lille and Smith has lanced the boil on divisions in the party, with insiders warning that the fracture has the potential to become the same sort of disaster for the DA as the street-name debacle of 2001, which split the party and weakened its electoral position for a decade. Hearings into the name-calling between De Lille and Smith began on Tuesday under the chairmanship of parliamentary chief whip John Steenhuisen, who said they would continue for several days. It is not clear whether De Lille and Smith will be able to attend Saturday's congress in Cape Town, which will elect a new provincial leader. The contenders are housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela, backed by Smi...
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