DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille has announced she will be closing her existing Twitter account in exchange for a new private one, as Twitter had been reduced to "a platform for irrationality and mob-lynching".

On Monday, she tweeted that she was opening a private Twitter account for "people interested in rational debate only".

Her announcement followed a tweet on Saturday, in which she shared photos of her and granddaughter Nceba cooking during load shedding.

Some Twitter users asked if the little girl was her slave or being trained to be a domestic worker.

On Monday, she said goodbye and "good riddance to the haters, bots and sock-puppets that constitute such a large percentage of my 1.4-million plus followers".

Explaining her decision, she said: "Twitter has degenerated into a platform for irrationality and mob-lynching. Everything that can be distorted and twisted for a hate-filled agenda, is used for the purpose of manufacturing outrage and inflicting maximum damage."

"For a long time I have sought to promote Twitter as a platform for rational and civil debate, but it clearly is not possible. It has degenerated into a space of distortion, de-contextualisation, demonization, delegitimation and double standards."