Mbali Ntuli, the former Democratic Alliance (DA) youth leader and a constituency head in the north of KwaZulu-Natal, is facing disciplinary charges and the possibility of being stripped of het party membership after liking a Facebook post that called Western Cape Premier Helen Zille a racist.
Despite the fact that the party's own Federal Legal Commission (FLC) has recommended to the party that no action should be taken against her, the party is pressing on with its plan to discipline Ntuli.
In the FLC's report, written by Alan McLoughlin, a member of the FLC, it is advised that "it is recommended that no further action be taken against Ntuli in this matter. The documentary evidence presented would not be sufficient to ensure a conviction of misconduct against her by a disciplinary panel. It is also submitted that a finding of not guilty against her would cause more harm than good to the Party at this time."
This comes after Interim Western Cape leader Bonginkosi Madikizela laid a charge against Ntuli for bringing the party into disrepute, when, in December last year, Ntuli liked a Facebook comment on a repost of a HuffPost SA article which compiled a Twitter thread of Zille's most controversial social media posts.
Ntuli reposted the article and slammed the the DA for it's inconsistency in implementing the party's social media policy on her Facebook page saying that its former leader Helen Zille had made outrageous comments in the past and faced no consequences. She said that people should be able to share their thoughts, but the party must be consistent in how it deals with them.
"The problem as far as I'm concerned is when some councillor or public rep tweets the same sort of thing and faces the full wrath of the public and suddenly the party. I'm not saying they don't deserve condemnation and whatever else happens as a result of their actions, but a little consistency would be nice," wrote Ntuli.
"As a party we should be clear about why some leaders can say whatever they want with impunity and others cannot. When is it disrepute and when is it justified starting a conversation, she furthered.
Ntuli's charges come after Zille was also charged for bringing the party into disrepute in March this year following a Twitter rant claiming that colonialism was "not all bad".
Ntuli resigned as the party's youth leader in 2014, following an on-going spat with Zille. In 2014 Ntuli crossed swords with Zille, who called her a "princess" and a "prima donna".
Ntuli continued to be a strong party voice and is deployed to build party structures in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Her public denouncement of Zille's colonialism tweets were welcomed by supporters.
Zille is still to face her disciplinary hearing while a date for Ntuli's charges to be heard has already been announced.