The DA has rejected racial allegations made by its member Nqaba Bhanga against the party’s federal council chairperson Helen Zille at the weekend, saying they are baseless and not supported by evidence.
Bhanga’s Facebook post read: “Helen Zille is the most racist person. She got a file on all black people. Yesterday, I learnt how she got information to try to destroy the ANC. I’m hurt to know that you were working with the ANC against me.”
According to DA MP Andrew Whitfield, Bhanga claimed that Zille was present in Gqeberha on a specific Friday night as part of a conspiracy against him.
However, Whitfield confirmed that Zille was not in the Eastern Cape at the time.
“Bhanga went further to allege an ‘investigation’ by Zille into his property, this is also patently false,” said Whitfield.
“The only body tasked with investigation in the DA is the federal legal commission (FLC), a politically independent body within the party, and [an investigation] can only be commenced with after a formal complaint has been lodged and tagged.
“The FLC conducts its work without fear and favour.”
Whitfield expressed his disappointment that Bhanga chose to take the matter to social media instead of raising his concerns within party structures.
He referred to the allegations as a “deeply unfortunate pattern of destructive personal behavior”, and emphasized that the DA leadership had previously intervened and offered support to Bhanga for his underlying issues.
However, Bhanga failed to honour his commitments to these interventions.
Whitfield reiterated the party’s zero-tolerance stance towards false or slanderous claims of racism, stating that such claims are seen as damaging and unacceptable.
“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 under any circumstances.
“The simple truth is that Bhanga has at no stage provided any evidence to support his claims. Unless this changes, the DA will treat this as an egregious case of slander against the party and take all appropriate steps, including through the FLC.
“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.”
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