Mmusi shows he’s free of Zille’s apron strings

The current crisis in the DA over the tweets on colonialism made by its former leader Helen Zille looks more like a script from a cheap Chinese movie of yore.

In those movies the protégé would be taken by a master to be trained in the basics of karate and would towards the end of the film be the one to beat his own master at his game.

We all know that Mmusi Maimane is a protégé of Zille who took him under her wing after he, in the 2011 local government elections, lost the race to be mayor of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality to Parks Tau (who lost to Herman Mashaba in 2016).

Maimane was still new to the party but showed tremendous potential as a possible future leader for a party which had a dearth of credible black leaders.

It was Zille’s aim (whether overtly or covertly stated is another matter) to change the image of the party from a party of mostly whites to a party representing all South Africans.

The brief dalliance (which sadly failed) with the former founder and leader of Agang SA Dr Mamphele Ramphele attests to that objective.

In ascending to the leadership of the party, the then young Maimane was, to a certain extent, proof that Zille’s project was bearing fruit notwithstanding her protégé still being new to the party.

The discipline of sociology teaches that there are intended and unintended consequences for any action taken. It might never have occurred to Madame Zille that Maimane would upset the apple cart by changing and wanting to change the DA from what it was and is.

And indeed, Maimane seems determined not to be just a black face in a predominantly white liberal party but to turn the DA into a credible and viable alternative to the ANC.

And it his intention is to ensure that the DA gets into power in 2019 as the governing ANC seems to be on the verge of losing its majority.

His reaction to the Zille twitter saga confirms my assertion.

Although erring on a technicality in announcing that the party had suspended Zille, Maimane has stuck to his guns and indeed, she has now been suspended.

The effect of Zille saga has two possibilities: the first that it will make or break Maimane; the second is it may have deleterious consequences for the party.

With Zille’s suspension Maimane has stamped his authority on the DA and has proven to all and sundry that he is not tied to the apron strings of his erstwhile mentor, but is setting the party on a new course.

The DA is in the centre of the South African political spectrum and on occasions looks as if it is right of centre. Maimane may take it to the left of centre and in the process bring in more black votes.

But, if Zille goes (which is not beyond the realm of possibility) it may create tensions within the party from her supporters which may in the long run cause a split.

For the sake of the party, which has consistently sought to project itself as a paragon of virtue, Maimane, had to stamp his authority on the DA. He must now bite the bullet.

Lolonga Tali lives in King William’s Town and occasionally contributes to the Daily Dispatch