GOOD party leader Patricia de Lille has said outgoing Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane has got a “taste of his own medicine.”
De Lille was among the first leaders to react to Maimane’s resignation as DA leader on Wednesday.
In a post on her party’s Facebook page, she wrote, “I hate to say I told you so but I am going to say it anyway. I am not claiming to be a sangoma but I warned Mmusi Maimane that if he didn’t stand on principle, his party’s laptop boys would swallow him up and spit him out.”
‘DA’s policies were window-dressing’
De Lille said when she resigned from the DA in 2018, she understood that the party’s policies were “window-dressing not matched by its practises in government.”
She slammed Maimane “and his handlers in the DA” for not having “a clue about principled leadership.”
She continued, “The DA is well on its way on the path of destruction, and it’s best we don’t disturb them. South Africans who care about all our people must continue to come together for common GOOD.
“To Mmusi I say: GOOD bye. I’m glad to see you go and hope you have a GOOD time.”
De Lille’s acrimonious breakup with DA
De Lille had a highly public and acrimonious departure from the DA that dragged out for months.
She merged her erstwhile party, the Independent Democrats, with the DA in 2010 before officially dissolving it in 2014 and becoming DA Western Cape provincial leader from 2015 to 2017.
She resigned from the party in 2018 after serving as Cape Town Mayor since 2011. She subsequently formed her own party, GOOD, which won two parliamentary seats in 2019’s national election.
President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed de Lille Public Works Minister after the elections, a position she continues to occupy.
During the latter part of her tenure as Cape Town Mayor, she was known for her run-ins with DA leadership, including Maimane.
Maimane’s resignation on Wednesday has rocked the DA, particularly after Federal Chairperson Athol Trollip simultaneously resigned.