DA sacking means Mali is out of council

AFTER almost three months of trying to cling to his job, Nelson Mandela Bay DA councillor Knight Mali has been fired from the party.

Mali, who will automatically be booted out of the council, has vowed to fight the decision taken on Monday by the DA’s national Federal Legal Commission (FLC). It follows a tumultuous 2½ months after his suspension in September on allegations that he was working with the ANC against the DA. His hearing was delayed a few times and was eventually moved to the FLC, as he felt he would not get a fair hearing in the Eastern Cape. During this time, a newspaper report by The Herald’s sister publication, Saturday Dispatch, stated that Mali was working with an ANC councillor to paint DA provincial leader Athol Trollip as a racist. Mali last week denied this and vowed to take the matter up with the press ombudsman. Trollip said yesterday that Mali had violated the party’s constitution.

“During [his] period of suspension, he was implicated in activities and actions that contravened very specific provisions of the DA constitution,” Trollip said. “This led to his being finally charged under clause 3.5.1 of the constitution, whereby his membership ceased. “He was given 48 hours to respond clearly [and] unequivocally as to why the cessation of membership should not apply. The FLC-appointed panel then considered what he had submitted and concluded that his reasons were neither clear nor unequivocal. “The provincial and local IEC will be informed, as will the municipality, [so] that the resultant [PR] vacancy be declared [and steps taken] to replace the former councillor.” Mali claimed that senior leaders of the DA had undertaken a “political witch-hunt” against him. “[It] is yet another malicious and brazen plot in an attempt to oust me from the DA owing to my vocal and open rebuke of racism within the DA ranks,” he said. Mali said he would take legal action to challenge the party’s decision.