De Lille drags Mazzone in explosive open letter
The Cape Town mayor seems to be picking out his detractors one-by-one.
Unless you have been living under set concrete for the past few months, you will know there’s no love lost between Cape Town mayor, Patricia de Lille and some high-ranking members of the Democratic Alliance (DA), as well as the party in its entirety.
After her latest – and perhaps the biggest – triumph against the party played out in the Western Cape High Court, one would think that she would sit back and savour the sweet taste of victory. But not Auntie Pat, as she set her sights on a new target, soon after swinging a few blows on party MP, John Steenhuisen last week.
The unfortunate individual on the wrong side of De Lille’s wrath this time around was the party’s shadow minister of Public Enterprises, Natasha Mazzone who – along with legions of the battle-hardened mayor’s legion of Twitter followers – was a recipient of an explosive open letter where she was dragged through the mud for her utterances regarding the case.
“I note, from your interviews and written communication pertaining to this matter, knowledge of my case is seriously lacking. I am therefore taking it upon myself to brief you and bring you up to speed, since no one in the DA appears to have done so.”
De Lille accuse Mazzone of “mindlessly repeating accusations” she has limited knowledge of, labelling her “clueless”.
The DA as a whole did not come out unscathed from De Lille’s pen – or in this case, keypad – as she laid into the party for throwing so-called “serious allegations” in her path without providing any real evidence.
My open letter to @Natasha9Mazzone pic.twitter.com/A9cBO1Vb5a
— Patricia de Lille (@PatriciaDeLille) June 28, 2018
Watch: The moment Patricia de Lille learned she beat the DA
Why the animosity between De Lille and Mazzone?
The blows thrown by the Cape Town mayor in Mazzone’s direction were in no way unsolicited, as in a press statement following Wednesday morning’s judgment, the latter compared De Lille to former president, Jacob Zuma.
“She (De Lille) has – in true Jacob Zuma style- sought to use public money to defend a matter which is between her and her political party.”
De Lille has, obviously, not taken kindly to – among other things – being likened to a man viewed in the local political landscape as the lowest of low-hanging branches.
Read: Democratic Alliance to pay de Lille over R1 million in legal fees