DA parliamentarian a fierce fighter who stood by her views - ANC's Kekana

Cape Town - Former DA MP Dene Smuts stood firm in what she believed and served without trying to catch votes, the ANC’s Nkenke Kekana said on Saturday.

“I had a lot of respect for her,” the former chairperson of the parliamentary committee on communications said of Smuts, who served in Parliament for 20 years.

“She was a very committed liberal who stood by her views. She was a fierce fighter for liberalism.”

Kekana, currently the Gauteng ANC spokesperson, said Smuts along with the rest of the committee believed in putting the interests of the country ahead of party politics.

“If I am able to, I will go to her funeral,” he said.

Kekana’s view of the former journalist, editor and author was similar to that of the party, which described the MP as a “truly great parliamentarian, who stood unswervingly for a cause far bigger than her own personal advancement - an enduring set of principles and beliefs".

The party was not yet able to confirm her cause of death.

She was 67 years old.

Smuts served in Parliament from 1989 to 2009.

She served as the DA’s spokesperson on home affairs, communications, and justice and constitutional development.

Kekana said Smuts and the rest of the committee anchored the new dispensation in the field of communication.

“I am proud of that period. We were both committed to South Africa and to ensuring that the laws passed will be in the interest of all citizens and not just a specific political party.”

This article first appeared on News24 – see here.