Democratic Alliance Eastern Cape leader Athol Trollip will today go to court to fight a decision to fine and suspend him from the Eastern Cape Legislature. Trollip said in court papers he had been severely embarrassed by the action taken against him and also faced possible financial embarrassment due to being fined a month’s salary. He said his credibility as a political leader had been dented along with his dignity. Trollip had become so stressed he had resorted to medical intervention. His family had also been deeply affected by his unlawful suspension and the national press reports that followed. “This has had a serious effect on my home and family life which is simply not to be tolerated and which is inexcusable.” The legislature’s ethics committee last week found him guilty of bringing the institution into disrepute because it said he failed to apologise for implying that premier Phumulo Masualle was a “liar and cheat” – something Trollip denied ever doing. Trollip had claimed that questions he submitted to the legislature on the transfer of hundreds of thousands of rands of provincial government funds into Masualle’s personal account had been edited and “sanitised” to deflect attention from Masualle. Masualle then...
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