EFF’s Shivambu says De Lille is a victim of a witch-hunt

The Economic Freedom Fighter’s (EFF’s) deputy President Floyd Shivambu tweeted that the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) utterances that it would seek an explanation from Patricia de Lille as to why she attended an event organised by the red berets are a “witch hunt”.

This is evidently witch hunt by the lily white Liberals. Free State DA Provincial Leader Patricia Komape and DA Members in the Free State were at the Memorial Service as well. Patricia worked with Mama Winnie and it’s within her right to pay tribute in an appropriate platform. https://t.co/gP2p4ViLkP

— Floyd Shivambu (@FloydShivambu) April 12, 2018

De Lille, who is being accused by her party of corruption, has since said that she attended the event – a memorial service for anti-apartheid struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela – held in Brandfort, Free State, to honour the struggle heroine.

In a tweet, De Lille said she will not be drawn to making her attendance a “side issue” and that she has “great respect” for Madikizela-Mandela who was a former colleague and a close friend who she regarded as a sister.

Speaking at the EFF memorial, De Lille shared a memory about how she had received assistance from Madikizela-Mandela on drafting a parliamentary question which, once she had posed it, resulted in her being suspended.

The DA Cape Town mayor further said she had marched side-by-side with the Mother of the Nation to demand that former state president Thabo Mbeki make available HIV/AIDS medication – ARVs –  during Mbeki’s AIDS denialism era.

De Lille’s attendance of the EFF memorial raised speculation that she may be about to join the EFF, or even the ANC.

She jokingly said during her speech at the memorial service in Brandfort that it is highly likely that Madikizela-Mandela would open an ANC or even an EFF branch once she reaches heaven.

ALSO READ: De Lille says she attended the EFF memorial to honour Winnie

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