Former DA politician Graham McIntosh has continued to assert that his departure from the party had nothing to do with being ousted from the party's parliamentary pick but more with uMngeni Mayor Chris Pappas's insistence to broadcast his “bedroom affairs”.
McIntosh, who resigned from the party last week, stressed that although he wanted to work towards ridding the province of the ANC’s dominance, he believed it would be difficult to do so with Pappas as the prime candidate for the party.
“I want to get rid of the ANC but how will I go into deep rural areas and canvass for a premier candidate that is married to a man? What do I say to those people?”
McIntosh said much like the DA’s John Steenhuisen had mentioned during the party’s provincial congress in Boksburg in August about working to rid the country of the ANC’s doomsday coalition, he felt it would be difficult for him to persuade people from rural areas to vote for Pappas, especially those who were very religious and Christian.
“This is a prime ministerial candidate we’re talking about, now what use is a gay bull in my kraal? So I did not want any more fighting so I decided to leave and rather focus on my efforts on helping the Multi-Party Charter.
“When (Deputy President Paul) Mashatile goes out to canvass he goes to churches in Soweto and speaks to pastors and what do I say to those Christians about our prime candidate who is married to a man?”
When asked about rumours of he himself being gay, McIntosh blasted the comments, indicating that he did not want to comment and that this was nothing more than 'a load of rubbish and slander'.
“No one wants to share what happens in their bedroom, it’s irrelevant, especially for a public person, why does he do that?”
Dean Macpherson, the DA leader in KwaZulu-Natal, condemned McIntosh’s comments regarding Pappas and his sexuality.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms his homophobic and bigotry-laced statement in his self-belief that anyone in South Africa actually takes him seriously or knows who he is.”
Macpherson reiterated how McIntosh’s resignation came shortly after he was informed he would not be considered for Parliament in the upcoming elections.
“The DA believes the views of a person who is about to join his seventh political party should be taken with a bucket of salt. I don’t even want to dignify his comments on what he thinks black voters do or do not accept because his failure in politics has proven he clearly has no idea what is important to the electorate.”
Macpherson added: “He is a relic of the past with nothing other than hatred to contribute to society and he should rather keep his unhinged thoughts to himself rather than expose his vile views.”