Nqaba Bhanga's allegations against Helen Zille part of his 'destructive personal behaviour', says DA in EC

The DA has dismissed allegations of racism by its former Eastern Cape leader Nqaba Bhanga against its federal council chair Helen Zille, saying it is a culmination of his “destructive personal behaviour”.

The party’s leader in the Eastern Cape, Andrew Whitfield, said Bhanga’s allegations, posted of Facebook, that Zille had launched an onslaught against him that was racist in tone, lacked evidence.

Bhanga took to Facebook on Saturday saying: “Helen Zille is the most racist person she got of a file of all black people. Yesterday I learnt how she got information to try to destroy mnrthe [sic]. I’m hurt to know that you were working with the ANC against me.”

Whitfield suggests this Facebook post was edited several times, part of it saying that Zille was in the Eastern Cape on Friday to conduct her investigation into his activities, including his properties.

“These claims fall flat at the first and most simple hurdle,” said Whitfield.

“Bhanga claims that Zille was in Gqeberha on Friday night in furtherance of some far-fetched conspiracy against him. However, the DA has confirmed that Zille was not even in the Eastern Cape at the time.”

Whitfield said he was confused that Bhanga would raise his concerns on Facebook and not through party structures.

“Sadly, this latest incident is part of a deeply unfortunate pattern of destructive personal behaviour. The DA leadership have on several occasions made interventions and have attempted to support him to deal with the underlying issues. Bhanga has, however, reneged on his commitments to these interventions,” said Whitfield.

“While the DA’s commitment to the rule of law means that we always take bona fide allegations seriously, that same commitment means that we also have zero tolerance for false or slanderous claims of racism. As we have seen before, spurious claims of racism are damaging and cannot be tolerated.”

The DA said unless Bhanga provides evidence, it will treat his allegations as slander against the party.

He also suggested that the party would take steps against Bhanga, including through the federal legal commission.

“Rather than lashing out at the party that has shown him nothing but compassion and support throughout his personal struggles, we once again encourage Bhanga to seek appropriate help,” he said.

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