- After resigning from the DA, Zwakele Mncwango said he left due to a growing culture of leaders being silenced.
- Mncwango said leaders were prevented from freedom of expression, but Helen Zille was allowed free rein.
- He said he would be revealing his next political home on 15 October.
Having resigned as a member of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature and from the DA, Zwakele Mncwango broke his silence regarding the motivation for his decision.
He said a letter from the chairperson of the DA's Federal Council, Helen Zille, dated 6 October 2022, in which she accused him of publicly and unreasonably disparaging the party, "was what broke the camel's back".
Mncwango said he believed the constitutional imperative of freedom of speech was necessary, but it appeared it was only reserved for Zille.
"The right to speak one's beliefs and to raise such opinions, without being silenced by the powers that be, cannot be taken lightly and FedEx has opted to do exactly that.
"This is untenable and unacceptable to me. The DA always talks about freedom of speech on public platforms, but sadly it has become evident that this right is reserved for a selected few, particularly Ms Zille, who, it seems, has the right to tweet her opinions on social media without repercussions or consequences, let alone censured, as it did to others," Mncwango said.
He said if he were to continue as a DA member under such stringent conditions, "that would simply mean accepting my basic right to be taken away".
He added:
"Without anything personal against Ms Zille, I have found it unconscionable to continue my membership with the DA, where the perception of an autocratic-like leader is debasing the very values that lured me to the party."
Mncwango terminated his membership from the DA a mere three days after resigning as chief whip of the party caucus at the KwaZulu-Natal legislature.
'Culture of fear' in DA
Following his resignation from the legislature, he publicly criticised the DA and cited various reasons as having forced his hand.
It was followed by a backlash from DA leaders, who even accused Mncwango of only resigning after receiving "costly trips" to Norway and Uganda.
Mncwango, however, lambasted the letter he received from Zille, saying it was clearly indicative of a trend that was both condescending, as well as demeaning.
"After all, what is good for the goose, should be good for the gander. I have, therefore, taken this deeply painful, but considered decision not to allow myself to be immured within the confines of a political party that prevents a basic constitutional right from being exercised."
Mncwango said:
He added that the letter was "threatening" him "with disciplinary action just to simply silence me".
"This has become the toxic culture that exists in our party and the reason why so many people are resigning from the party.
"It is proof of exactly what I said publicly, that a culture of fear exists in the DA, and people are afraid to speak out because they will lose their positions.
"I can no longer be one of those people, and the freedom to express my views openly is a value that I hold dearly," said Mncwango.
'Dissenting views'
Speaking to News24, Zille said his allegations had "no merit whatsoever".
"Any honest person will tell you how open debate and dissenting views are welcome in the party, and they often change the course of decision-making.
"People are never targeted or marginalised for having a dissenting position. However, if a member repeatedly slags off the party in public, when they have never raised an issue internally, then they get a standard letter from me, requesting that they stop doing so. If they continue, they can then have their membership cessated," said Zille.
She added that the DA was a voluntary organisation, and this had "implications", because "anyone who joins the DA has a contract with the party".
"That contract is the DA constitution. If they violate the DA's constitution, as Zwakele did, then they get a standard letter from me, in my role as Federal Council chairperson.
Zille said:
In a strongly-worded statement, the DA's Francois Rodgers also took aim at Mncwango for criticising the party in media interviews.
"The DA believes that Zwakele has been planning his departure to ActionSA for the last month. Therefore, we feel he needs to come clean with the public and his new party as to why he saw it fit to enjoy the perks of his office in the legislature at the pleasure of the DA, while planning his departure to his new political party."
Rodgers claimed that some of the perks Mncwango had received in the past month included trips to Norway and Uganda, which cost about R150 000.
"Surely, if he had such misgivings about the DA, he should have resigned from the party before he enjoyed this costly trip."