Political lynching by DA kangaroo court

10 June 2016

The Western Cape ANC says the shockingly absurd ‘sentence’ of its Western Cape legislature chief whip Pierre Uys is inappropriate and erroneous.

Uys was suspended for two days in February 2015 after the DA speaker of the legislature Sharna Fernandez adjourned the meeting preventing premier Helen Zille from delivering her state of the province address.

Today a DA loaded disciplinary committee added an additional ‘sentence’ to dock a month’s salary and allowances from Uys (of which half is suspended for twelve months) as well as a further sanction of apologising to the legislature for not obeying an illegal request by Fernandez to leave the meeting in 2015. The full legislature will consider these extra ‘sentences’ after the elections.

Western Cape ANC secretary Faiez Jacobs says: “The DA undermines our democracy as well as persecutes and oppresses political opponents with apartheid style abuse of laws and veiled legal processes. This punishment aims to intimidate opposition parties and serves as a cover up for an inept speaker. It is part of its plan to limit the democratically elected opposition and clamping down on democracy.

“The DA is evidently biased with leaders who are vindictive and driving personal vendettas. If the DA can’t beat its opponents fairly, they bring them to ridiculous disciplinary committees to achieve what they could not do elsewhere. The DA even raked in irrelevant labour law and old apartheid rulings to the political arena to justify handing down a penalty that does not befit the averred infringement.

“The DA does not offer people anything, save to mock our democracy. It was clear by the evidence of DA chief whip Mark Wiley (who also led the charge against Uys) that he wants to punish Uys even more as he deems as inadequate the two day suspension Uys served. The DA blames him for the disorderly meeting where Fernandez failed to maintain control in February 2015. He was not charged with disorderly conduct, but merely disregarding an illegal ‘request’ from Fernandez to leave the chamber ‘immediately’.

“The DA posy to hunt Uys at the disciplinary committee rejected its own expert consultant, Western Cape Bar advocate Susan van Zyl, who was hired as initiator at great cost to the taxpayers by the legislature. She said any punishment beyond a warning, reprimand or apology would be too severe and unwarranted. Van Zyl also argued in mitigation that Uys complied with his initial two day suspension. It is clear the DA is bent on protecting the speaker and it is on an election stunt to score cheap party political points.”

Statement issued by Western Cape ANC secretary Faiez Jacobs, 10 June 2016