‘DA drawcard’ Liam Jacobs out of Youth Day event in Kimberley after joining PA
Liam Jacobs joins the Patriotic Alliance amid political turmoil.
Image: Supplied
WHILE it’s once again time for politicians to kiss babies and hug grannies, former DA Member of Parliament Liam Jacobs - known for his hardline questioning in Parliament - will no longer be part of the DA’s Youth Day programme in Roodepan on Monday, June 16, after crossing the floor to the Patriotic Alliance (PA).
In a TikTok video, Jacobs is seen sharing jokes about “stomach politics” with PA president Gayton McKenzie, as he hands him a plate of slap chips and a cheese sandwich. McKenzie welcomed him warmly, saying the “patriots” would show him love.
“You are home. We would never turn against you. My people know loyalty and love for each other - we are a family,” McKenzie said.
DA national spokesperson Willie Aucamp stated on Saturday that they had yet to receive a formal resignation letter from Jacobs.
"We are aware that he has joined the PA. If he has joined another political party, it is considered an immediate termination of his membership. We wish him everything of the best with his future plans," Aucamp said.
The DA in the Northern Cape has since had to adjust its Youth Day itinerary following Jacobs’ sudden departure, announced in a midnight Facebook Live video on June 14.
Jacobs, 24, who is originally from Kimberley, had been scheduled to address the Youth Day event in Roodepan ahead of the by-election scheduled to take place in Ward 1 on July 23.
DA provincial leader Harold McGluwa MPL and provincial chairperson Isak Fritz MPL will now be joined by up-and-coming local youth activist Zandile Zozi to address the community and rally young people at the open park on the corner of Celosia and Hammerkop streets in Roodepan at 11am.
McGluwa stressed that young people did not have to accept the rising levels of youth unemployment and the associated social ills.
"They must fight back at the polls by choosing a DA government, whose policies will grow the economy and create jobs, unlike the ANC, whose policies are making people poorer," he advised.