UPDATED: DA’s Nqaba Bhanga suspended over Zille racism claim
Former Democratic Alliance Eastern Cape provincial leader Nqaba Bhanga was suspended on Tuesday over his weekend social media posts accusing DA federal chairperson Helen ZIlle of keeping dossiers on black people.
Bhanga also accused Zille of being a racist and claimed that she had been “working with the ANC against me” to remove him as a leader of the DA in the Eastern Cape.
The party’s Eastern Cape leadership had given Bhanga 48 hours to explain why he should not be suspended in terms of section 2.5 of the DA’s constitution for bringing the party into disrepute through his comments.
The deadline expired on Tuesday, when the provincial executive committee (PEC) was due to meet and take a decision on his suspension, Eastern Cape DA leader Andrew Whitfield told the Mail & Guardian.
Speaking ahead of the PEC meeting, Whitfield said Bhanga had indicated that he would oppose the notice of suspension, and that he [Bhanga] would have to provide “compelling reasons” to prevent the PEC from implementing it.
He added that the PEC would focus on whether Bhanga had brought the DA into disrepute by calling Zille a racist, while the content of his allegation would be the subject of a separate process dealt with by its federal legal commission.
“The PEC has suspended [Bhanga] for bringing the party into disrepute — did he call Helen a racist or not? He did. It’s pretty clear. We are confined to this issue,” Whitfield said.
The PEC would also decide whether to suspend Bhanga from his political party duties, which could include his duties as a public representative and as leader of the official opposition in the Eastern Cape legislature, a position he has held since 2021.
“This is something that the PEC is considering,” Whitfield said.
He said it was “unfortunate” that Bhanga appeared to have directly contradicted section 2.5 of the DA’s constitution by making the allegations against Zille, who he had defended in the past against racism allegations over her public comments.
“I am disappointed. I am absolutely livid that he has transgressed the rules for conduct of DA members,” he said.
Whitfield said Bhanga may also face legal issues over the claims he made against Zille, which could not be resolved politically.
“There is no political solution for legal issues. Those two things will have to be dealt with concurrently,” he said.
Bhanga said he was consulting his lawyers to challenge the suspension.
This story has been updated to reflect Bhanga’s suspension.