KNYSNA NEWS - The disciplinary committee of the DA has ruled that the disciplinary hearing against former deputy mayor and DA Councillor Peter Myers will be heard behind closed doors – this was revealed on Friday, 13 April moments before it started.

Myers faces charges relating to his conduct and the alleged disclosure of privileged information.

The Federal Legal Commission (FLC) of the DA released a document containing 22 reasons that the hearing would be heard in absence of the Knysna Ratepayers Association, any members of the media including the public.

“It was stated that the chairperson initially ruled that the hearing would be in-camera due to the fact that this was the established practice by the FLC, but it was then argued that the onus would be on the committee assistants to prove that there was established practice that the said proceedings should be in-camera and that no evidence supporting the existence of an existing practice has been presented to the panel,” reads the document.

In terms of public interest, the FLC stated that it should be noted that when a person applies to become a DA public representative, he or she undertakes to restrict his or her freedom of expression in terms of the Federal Constitution and other party policies such as the Confidentiality of Closed Meetings and Social Media Policy.

“An open hearing would entail that the party could suffer reputational damage that could have a negative impact on the party’s electoral prospects,” it was stated.

The disciplinary hearing then continued without access allowed for media or members of the public and is expected to be heard over the next couple of days with the possibility of a postponement to a later date.

See the images below for the full reasons given by the DA’s Federal Legal Commission. 

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