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If there is one thing DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille does not want to do, it is playing politics with the people of Schweizer-Reneke.
On Sunday, the DA, after its federal executive (FedEx) meeting, Zille announced, had received a report on the investigation "into the DA's mishandling of responses to social media posts relating to the first day of school at Laerskool Schweizer-Reneke in January 2019".
The FedEx unanimously accepted the report and decided the party's "primary accountability is to the community of Schweizer-Reneke".
It will send a delegation to the town to report on the findings and the proposed way forward before making a public statement.
On Tuesday, Zille released another statement.
"Following a partial and distorted leak of the DA's internal investigation into the party's mishandling of the Schweizer-Reneke incident last year, there has been a further attempt to manipulate the matter for political purposes," it read.
"A partial truth is often more dangerous than a deliberate lie, and this is definitely the case in relation to the Schweizer-Reneke investigation."
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Zille said the DA would not deviate from its decision to first report to the community of Schweizer-Reneke.
"Media speculation and political agitation will not force us to deviate from our agreed course of action," read her statement.
"We are determined to act with integrity in this matter and to discuss the full context of the events and their aftermath directly with the interested and affected parties.
"This issue and the individuals involved have been used as political footballs for long enough and it is time to bring this to an end."
Speaking to News24 after an event at the Cape Town Press Club, where her predecessor as DA leader Tony Leon spoke, Zille said they must be accountable in a proper way.
Asked what the meeting with the Schweizer-Reneke community would entail, she said they were still working that out with stakeholders, adding she "got into this midstream".
"I've got to handle this properly. We must not play politics with it."
Two weeks ago, the DA lost its ward in the Mamusa council - in which Schweizer-Reneke is situated - to the FF Plus in a by-election.
Asked if she thought the matter contributed to the loss, Zille answered in the affirmative.
