(David Harrison/M&G)
Patricia de Lille’s court battles have not yet come to an end as she gears up for the review of the internal report into her conduct authored by Democratic Alliance (DA) chief whip John Steenhuisen in the Western Cape High Court on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the high court set aside the DA’s decision to terminate her party membership over comments she made during a radio interview.
A full Bench determined that the party’s decision to expel De Lille from the DA was unlawful and it was set aside with costs.
READ MORE: She’s back: De Lille triumphs over DA
The Cape Town mayor now plans on challenging the findings of the Steenhuisen report, which informed the DA’s decision to sanction De Lille for her alleged misconduct.
De Lille is demanding two documents: A letter from Cape Town safety and security mayoral committee member JP Smith and an SMS she allegedly sent to someone regarding the scoring of Achmat Ebrahim’s performance at the time he applied for the position of city manager.
DA to appeal judgment
It is alleged that De Lille demanded a good score for Ebrahim as she wanted him to secure the job, a charge she denies.
Ebrahim resigned after the allegations were made and he himself was facing suspension.
De Lille said in a statement in May that she had been requesting the SMS since September 2017.
“It is only fair I receive this as this SMS was relied upon to initiate disciplinary action against me. We are demanding from the DA the name of the person that I allegedly sent the SMS to, the number of the phone which I allegedly sent the SMS to and a copy of the SMS,” she said.
READ MORE: De Lille takes on Limberg over SMS
De Lille may have been victorious on Wednesday but the DA’s Natasha Mazzone made it clear that the party intended appealing the court’s decision. — News24
READ MORE: DA to seek another motion of no confidence in De Lille after court loss