Although there has been a great deal of reported shock and surprise at Lindiwe Mazibuko’s resignation from her parliamentary post, DA leader Helen Zille doesn’t seem particularly surprised. In an interview earlier this week Madame Zille was asked the real reason behind the ‘sudden’ decision:

“She would have lost the election in that caucus. She knew it – and many people knew it. I am sure it [Harvard] was her Plan B,” Zille said. She declined to elaborate on the reasons behind this conclusion, but it was clear the she is worried about how the system of two “power centres” – that of party leader and parliamentary leader – unfolded in the past parliamentary term.

Sounds a little suspect; not unusual for politicians when they are asked for “real reasons” though. Throughout the interview Madame Zille sounded just a touch bitter about Lindiwe’s decision as though it was perhaps a more personal reason for the split. Those of you who have ever applied for a Masters degree in anything will vouch that the process is anything but sudden, so this must have been in the pipeline for some time. At some point the decision to study must have been plan A especially if she “knew” she was going to lose the election – unless, of course, Zille was actually the one who “knew” and Mazibuko was nudged off the party bus and made to look like she jumped.

[Source]News24 and City Press