ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has cast Helen Zille’s nomination as the Democratic Alliance (DA) Johannesburg mayoral candidate as part of a strategy to protect the African National Congress (ANC). Writing on social media, Mashaba argued that Zille’s deployment was not driven by the DA itself but by “forces she is willing to protect, otherwise funding will dry up.”

Mashaba alleged the move formed part of a “bigger plan to protect and delay the exposure of corruption” linked to the ANC. In his view, Zille’s candidacy provides the ANC with “someone who will always protect the ANC at every opportunity.”