Zille defends IRR analyst's DA leader piece, says 'white man' comments taken out of context
3 October 2019
Former DA leader and current policy fellow at the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), Helen Zille, has defended an opinion piece a member of the institute wrote, calling for Mmusi Maimane to resign as leader of the opposition.
The piece has caused a furore in the party after the IRR quoted the opinion piece in a tweet: "The seed of the DA's recovery has been planted by a white man in the Western Cape. Alan Winde should be the new leader of the DA. Stand with the IRR..."
It then asked people to join the institution or SMS their name at a cost of R1 per SMS.
The piece, written by Hermann Pretorius, an analyst at the institute, stated: "The Honourable Mmusi Maimane should resign as leader of the Democratic Alliance."