De Lille has accused the party of treating her unfairly and failing to follow due process.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has confirmed that the South African Police Service (SAPS) has opened a criminal case against Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille after receiving a complaint by the party.
DA Federal Executive chairperson James Selfe said that the party had filed a complaint against De Lille after receiving an “unsolicited affidavit” from a business person in Johannesburg who made allegations of bribery against the mayor.
The businessman, Selfe said, had applied for a contract with the City of Cape Town where he would provide fire extinguishers for informal settlements. In late 2012, he was on the verge of being handed a contract, when he alleges that De Lille told him to pay R5-million.
When he refused, Selfe said that the businessman alleged De Lille refused him the contract.
“We saw the affidavit and the correspondence between the businessperson and Patricia. We then sent the documents to her attorneys and we said ‘what is your reaction to this?’,” Selfe said.
“She didn’t give us her reaction,” he continued.
Selfe said that the DA then approached the Cape Town central police station, where the party handed over the correspondence and the affidavit to the SAPS. The DA had an “obligation” in terms of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act to make the police aware of the allegations, he said.
“The police then opened a criminal case against Patricia,” he said.
De Lille released a statement shortly after seeing news reports that charges had been laid against her on Sunday. She said that the police had not yet made her aware of any criminal case, but that she would “cooperate openly and transparently” with the SAPS.
In recent months, De Lille has been the subject of numerous investigations after being accused of corruption by the City of Cape Town caucus. She has vehemently denied claims made against her – which include preventing investigations into misconduct of certain party members, manipulating tender processes, unlawful upgrades to her home with public funds, and employing people close to her in City positions – and accused the DA of attempting to “get rid”of her.
In a statement on Sunday, she again questioned the party’s motives for laying a complaint with the police against her.
She asked why the accuser had waited five years to make the allegations and why he went to the DA instead of straight to the police.
“This seems to be the latest of a string of moves to taint my name by clutching at anything and informing the media before allegations are properly tested,” she said. “I have repeatedly asked for a fair process yet the handling of this matter and the treatment towards me are clearly attempts to sway public perception against me instead of giving me a fair opportunity to state my case and to test the allegations properly.”
DA leader Mmusi Maimane has already stripped some of De Lille’s responsibilities. Maimane has taken De Lille off the task team leading the City of Cape Town’s response to the water crisis and has now placed deputy mayor Ian Neilson in charge, flanked by Western Cape Premier Helen Zille and DA leader in the Western Cape Bonginkosi Madikizela.
This latest action by the party will see De Lille facing a criminal investigation into her conduct by law enforcement.