Home » Archbishop Tutu Supports De Lille, Calls Her a ‘Unifier’ and Her Exit a Loss to Cape Town

Archbishop Tutu Supports De Lille, Calls Her a ‘Unifier’ and Her Exit a Loss to Cape Town

South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu released a statement on Wednesday addressing the Democratic Alliance (DA) matter of terminating Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille’s membership. Tutu and his family expressed sadness at the exit of De Lille. He described De Lille as a “unifier” and also acknowledged the role the mayor played in Cape […]

By Wendy Mothata
09-05-18 23:48
in News

South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu released a statement on Wednesday addressing the Democratic Alliance (DA) matter of terminating Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille’s membership.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Patricia de Lille. Source: Patricia de Lille’s profile pic on Twitter

Tutu and his family expressed sadness at the exit of De Lille. He described De Lille as a “unifier” and also acknowledged the role the mayor played in Cape Town.

Tutu took to Twitter and said: “Leah and I are very sad that Patricia De Lille’s services will be lost to the City of Cape Town. Although she represented a particular political party, she played an important role as a unifier in a society still bearing the scars of its divided past.”

This follows after De Lille was axed from the DA on Tuesday, after she told 702’s Eusebius McKaiser on air that she would “walk away” once she had cleared her name. 

De Lille, who is charged with misconduct amidst various claims, survived a motion of no confidence against her when her party voted to recall her as mayor.

She in turn revealed in a media conference on Wednesday that her relationship with the DA deteriorated after the Fed Ex disapproved of her transformation plan for Cape Town.

The former mayor has made it clear that she will be challenging the DA in court, and said she will file court papers on Friday. 

Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson has been appointed Acting Mayor.