Democratic Alliance (DA) member and Mayor of the Midvaal Local Municipality in Gauteng, Bongani Baloyi, has described former DA leader Tony Leon’s remarks about Mmusi Maimane as “careless, racist and de-humanising”.
He was responding to an article in News24, which quoted Leon as saying that Maimane’s leadership in the DA was an “experiment gone wrong.”
Baloyi says it could potentially cause racial divisions in society.
“Tony Leon’s reference about Mmusi Maime is actually an a-front on all Black people and needs to be condemned across all political parties in the strongest term it deserves. I personally am not an experiment for anyone to do an experiment on me. I have worked as anyone in the party to be where I am and it’s very disheartening to hear such most thoughts which were shared in public which normally remain private about us,” adds Baloyi.
Maimane has since defended himself on Twitter, saying Leon’s assertions emanate from his stance that the DA should have honoured the late struggle icon, Mam’Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, which is what the party didn’t see as a priority.
Hey, ore experiement ke mang?
Wa itlhagisa, ebile wa tella. Entlek ungijwayela kabi.
I am a human being. Not your science study. https://t.co/OMgMkcmO2I pic.twitter.com/Yv4F1Qfo3q
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) April 3, 2021
The sheer audacity to erase my agency, my dignity and my humanity.
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) April 3, 2021
Political analyst, Ongama Mtimka, says Leon’s comments are full of contradictions and show that the party doesn’t value the role Maimane played in growing support for the country’s official opposition. Mtimka says Maimane played a huge role in growing the party and that should be seen as an achievement for both the party and Maimane himself.
“Tony Leon’s views on Maimane time in the Democratic Alliance in ridden with contradictions, especially because he sees that period as having been a failure – what does he make of the fact that the Democratic Alliance has continued to increase its support despite the departure of Helen Zille and leadership changed to Mmusi Maimane – the 2014 elections the Democratic Alliance increased its support yet again to 22%,” he adds.
