De Lille’s successor calls her a ‘sissy’ after she accuses DA of using her name

Former DA and Western Cape mayor Patricia De Lille has hit back at her former party once again, this time claiming they are still using her name to secure votes in the province.

While on the campaign trail in Mitchells Plain today, De Lille alleged a number of households in the area notified her the DA was claiming she was still a member of the party.

She went on to release a statement demanding that her former party stops using her name to canvas for support.

“The hypocrisy of the DA knows no bounds. They spent 2 years and about R2 million in legal fees trying to get rid of me – for no legitimate reason. Their conduct was deeply dehumanising. Yet, they feel they need to use my name to canvas for support,” read part of De Lille’s statement.

To support her claims, she also posted a video of one of the voters sharing these allegations with her, claiming that people in blue t-shirts came to her home in the days prior to De Lille’s visit and presented her with a petition to sign. She claims she was told the purpose of the petition was to ensure mayor De Lille stayed on in her position under the DA.

De Lille has vowed to send the video to DA leaders demanding an explanation for their misleading voters and said she would also be reporting the party’s conduct to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

When called for comment on the allegations, DA Western Cape provincial leader Bonginkosi Madikizela said De Lille was merely “acting like a sissy”.

“I really don’t understand why Patricia is a cry baby. It’s her who always says politics is not for sissies and I don’t know why she’s acting like a sissy,” said Madikizela.

“As far as I am concerned, she has moved on.”

Madikizela noted that campaign season was on the way and all parties were in crunch time so allegations such as these were bound to fly.

“It’s a competition, people will say all sorts of things about us… I’m not going to allow her to take my focus off campaigning,” said the party’s provincial leader.

He did not give a definitive answer with regards to the veracity of the claims and DA national spokesperson Solly Malatsi could not be reached at the time of writing.

After promising to release a book earlier this year, De Lille has since revealed that the book would be about what she called her dehumanising experience while working under the DA.

She promised to release the book long before the elections.

ALSO READ: Is De Lille taking the DA’s ‘coloured vote’ with her as she goes?

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