Political analyst, Ongama Mtimka, says comments by former Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, Tony Leon, regarding Mmusi Maimane are full of contradictions and show that the party doesn’t value the role played by Maimane in growing its support.
Leon was quoted in an online article over the weekend, as saying that he believes that Maimane’s era of leading the DA was “an experiment gone wrong.” Maimane has since defended himself on Twitter, saying this emanates from his stance that the DA should have honoured the late struggle icon, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, which the party didn’t see as a priority.
Mtimka says Maimane played a huge role in increasing the DA’s support base, helping grow it by 22% in the 2014 elections.
Former DA leaders are at loggerheads:
Speaking to SABC News’ Desiree Chauke, Maimane described the utterances as offensive.
“The project of dehumanising is certainly one that is historic. I was offended and found the comments offensive, but in some ways, not surprised. At some level, you have got to sit back and say it says more about those who make those comments than those who the comments are made about. The journey to a non-racial SA is going to be long and hard because you are going to have people who keep referring to others as experiments and you need to strengthen your resolve,” he said,
Maimane described Leon’s utterances as a fight-back campaign.
“Whatever it is, well within is a fight-back campaign. As the new leadership has come back, almost there is a resolve or a giving up of saying ‘we are going to pursue an SA for all.’ The belief that others are just being experimented on is now prevalent and more than anything you can see that in the outlook the organisation has taken. It is certainly one that is not pursuing all South Africans. It is consolidating and ultimately I think that is where Leon is playing a crucial role,” he adds.
Maimane says he will not be taking legal action against Leon as there is a bigger war to wage in the country, like unemployment and crime.
“In the context of the book, if there is an interest of selling the book and he wants to describe me in that sense, it says more about him than of me. The question that is on the table and that is the bit that he needs to explain to the rest of the people inside the DA, is who are the experimenters and who is being experimented on? I don’t need to wage this war. The bigger war in this country is about the fact that we don’t have solutions to unemployment, the crime in SA and the failing education system.”
Mmusi Maimane on Tony Leon labelling him a “failed experiment” of the DA:
