Leader of the One-SA Movement, Mmusi Maimane, says he does not regret having been part of the Democratic Alliance (DA).
Maimane has rejected comments by former DA leader Tony Leon that he was an ‘experiment’ for the party.
In an article following the release of his new book, Leon says Maimane was an ‘experiment’ that went wrong.
Maimane has described the utterances as offensive not only against himself as a person but broader society as well.
“I had great opportunities to serve inside the DA and congress of the DA expressed confidence in my leadership and felt to vote for me. South Africans black and white we must work together. So I don’t sit here today saying that my time at the DA was somewhat a miss we had an opportunity to convey ideals to South Africa.
Just because people opposed it does not nullify. In anyone’s life you write a chapter and you move onto the next one. The statement of referring to people as an experiment is not unique to an individual it is a process of dehumanising a whole bunch of people, a whole community of people.”
Former DA leaders are at loggerheads:
Earlier political analyst, Ongama Mtimka, said comments by former DA leader,Leon, regarding Maimane are full of contradictions and show that the party doesn’t value the role played by Maimane in growing its support.
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 said Maimane played a huge role in increasing the DA’s support base, helping grow it by 22% in the 2014 elections.
