Helen Zille temporarily suspended
Helen Zille has been suspended from all Democratic Alliance (DA) activities for her controversial tweets about colonialism.
The DA's federal executive decided, by an overwhelming majority, to temporarily suspend Zille pending the conclusion of a disciplinary hearing.
Zille has meanwhile shared her reasons as to why she should not be suspended on Twitter.
Zille reasons why she should not be suspended by Laila Majiet on Scribd
DA federal executive chairperson, James Selfe says Zille's social media commentary and public utterances broke down public trust.
"There is no question that Ms Zille's original tweets and subsequent justifications have damaged our standing in the public mind," says Selfe.
He believes Zille has a special duty to protect the party's interest and mission, but that her statements are at odds with this.
"We live in a fragile democracy which means our public representatives must, at all times, be sensitive to the legitimate anger that people still feel about our past and its legacy," says Selfe.
"DA leader Mmusi Maimane has pursued every avenue to resolve this matter. All of his previous good faith attempts have thus far been to no avail. He has asked Ms Zille to issue a full apology for her actions and has sought to find a solution to this matter," he adds.
Her disciplinary hearing is set to get underway on Friday.