Colonialism Gave You Piped Water, Says South African Premier

South Africa's main opposition party has charged its former leader, Helen Zille, with misconduct following a series of controversial social media posts.

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Zille is the former head of the Democratic Alliance (DA) party and currently the premier of the Western Cape province. Her posts, which were met with public outrage, suggested that colonialism brought benefits to the country. "For those claiming legacy of colonialism was ONLY negative, think of our independent judiciary, transport infrastructure, piped water," Zille had written. The DA is contemplating expulsion for her transgression.

The current DA leader, Mmusi Maimane, said in a statement that Zille had "violated the party's federal constitution by acting in a manner which has brought the party into disrepute." He also told reporters that disciplinary proceedings had begun against her, but she would not be suspended in the interim. "Our party has always stood for the principle of freedom of speech. This case is not about freedom of speech. Our party has stood for South Africans from all walks of life," Maimane said. "People can express a view but does that view do damage or harm to the interests of the organization, which is what this is," he added.

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Zille, who apologized for the tweets, responded to the charges on Twitter, saying: "I have only one comment: I will abide by due and fair process of SA (South Africa) and DA constitution and the rule of law".

The DA won 22 percent of the vote in the 2014 general election and has been gaining popularity, while trying to shed its image as a "white" party before the 2019 election. The Democratic Alliance promotes itself as a liberal equal-opportunity party, but efforts to broaden its appeal among black voters have been hurt by social media scandals.

If the charges are upheld against Zille, she faces temporary suspension, a fine of up to US$3,700, community service or permanent expulsion from the party.

South Africa was collectively colonized by the Dutch and or British for nearly three centuries. The country then experienced white minority rule under apartheid, which ended in 1994.