Former Western Cape Police Commissioner Resigns From Party Citing Racism

Former Western Cape police commissioner Lennit Max recently resigned from the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), citing racism within the party.

Max, who joined the party in August 2021, had been a mayoral candidate for Cape Town in last year’s local government elections. He formerly served as a member of the DA and the Independent Democrats and had a brief stint as an adviser to police minister Bheki Cele.

In a resignation letter seen by TimesLIVE, Max accused the FF+ of prioritizing the interests of Afrikaners to the exclusion of other race groups.

Max was troubled by sections of the FF+ constitution that he believed focused exclusively on advancing Afrikaner interests, with phrases such as ‘in particular the Afrikaners’ right to self-determination,’ which he found exclusionary.

He mentioned that during his time with the party, he had discussions with Western Cape leader Corné Mulder regarding these concerns, but felt that promised changes were not implemented to make the party more inclusive.

Max expressed that his decision to resign was a principled one, as he could not endorse a system that he felt would take the country back to pre-1994 standards.

In response to Max’s allegations, Corné Mulder refuted the claims, calling them ‘absolute nonsense.’ He highlighted that the party has members from all communities and aims to be inclusive, as seen during its manifesto launch.

Mulder acknowledged discussions with Max regarding the party’s constitution, explaining that the wording of certain sections was set when the party was formed in 1994. He stated that internal processes were underway to address Max’s concerns.

In his defense, Mulder mentioned that Max did not voice these issues when running as the FF+ mayoral candidate or when he was elected as a deputy chair in the Western Cape, questioning the timing of Max’s resignation.