[imagesource: Trevor Samson]

There was a time, not so long ago, actually, when Mmusi Maimane and John Steenhuisen were as thick as thieves.

Clearly, there is no longer any love lost between them, with Maimane’s Twitter tirade this past weekend laying bare the deep divisions that exist between the DA’s former leader and current interim leader.

The beef, which has been boiling over for a while, erupted into the public’s eye early on Saturday morning. Here’s the tweet that started it all:

Ah yes, Judas – the most famous traitor of them all.

Via that EWN link above, here’s what Steenhuisen had to say during his Real State of the Nation tour:

“I think South Africans know why we are in a bad situation and I think what South Africans are looking for is a solution and a way out of the trouble that we are in. So, the days of just pointing the finger at the ANC and saying how bad they are, without putting workable solutions on the table, are over.”

Steenhuisen said he warned Maimane’s campaign team about its strong focus on criticising the ANC rather than presenting solutions.

He said the DA has since learnt from this approach.

A lesson learnt a little too late, many would say.

Back to the beef, and Maimane replying to his own tweet with this:

Double Judas!

Then, like any good tea-spilling session should, the rant ended with a GIF:

Do not mistake kindness for weakness. pic.twitter.com/gh4d2dg3zd

— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) February 1, 2020

South African democracy in action.

By the way, the Cachalia he references above is Ghaleb Cachalia, DA party MP.

Without comment, here’s Cachalia’s response to being called out:

Quite incredibly, given how much he loves a clapback, Steenhuisen has yet to publicly respond.

I would hazard a guess that this is because he knows full well that Maimane could sink the DA with a few choice words (I can think of one that starts with an ‘r’ that would see all hell break loose), so he’s biting his tongue.

Expect more fireworks, as Maimane talks about starting a new party and the DA hangs on for dear life.

[source:ewn]