ANC’s legal action threat against DA for ‘ANC is Killing SA’ billboard unfounded

The DA has been served with a lawyer’s letter from the Independent Electoral Commission following a complaint laid by the ANC because of the ‘ANC is Killing SA’ billboard.

The IEC’s assertion that they are acting on behalf of the ANC on this matter is both confusing and concerning. Should the ANC wish to pursue legal action against the DA for this billboard, they should have done so independently and not make use of the IEC legal representatives and resources.

The DA has therefore requested clarity from the IEC on this matter before we proceed.

More importantly, the ANC has laid a complaint with the IEC because they presumably dispute the hard truths which are contained on the billboard erected by the DA last week.

The billboard serves to commemorate the lives lost through ANC government action and inaction in the Esidimeni massacre, the Marikana killings, innocent children having died in pit toilets and the thousands of lives lost due to unprecedented crime levels.

This billboard also seeks to hold the ANC government to account for the murder of these innocent citizens who lost their lives at the hands of an uncaring ANC government. The DA has neither defamed the organisation nor made false claims about their culpability.

We have therefore written to the IEC to seek clarity on what capacity their lawyers are acting on this matter. Once we receive that information, we are prepared to argue our case in the electoral court.

Our assertion is that to claim the ANC is killing us is both factual and undisputed. The ANC is killing South Africans. We cannot let them get away with murder or have them force us to forget the human loss of life they have presided over.

Under a DA government, such atrocities would never happen. That is why we will continue to fight for accountability.

Statement issued by Solly Malatsi, DA National Spokesperson, 27 January 2019