By Thabo Mokone, Kgothatso Madisa and Lizeka Tandwa
DA knives are out for the party’s leader, John Steenhuisen, with a growing lobby strongly seeking his downfall while pushing for the rise of Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
This is according to impeccable DA sources who spoke to the Sunday Times this week, indicating there is “increasing appetite” in the party for “new leadership” as unhappiness over Steenhuisen’s suitability to remain at the helm grows.
It is also understood that the DA is under pressure from its donors to give Steenhuisen his marching orders. They have of late grown unhappy with his leadership style, and his alleged abuse of party funds was the straw that has broken the camel’s back.
The sources have further indicated that members of the party’s top brass want Steenhuisen, who is also minister of agriculture, to be replaced by someone else, and many see Hill-Lewis as the most suitable successor.
This comes as Steenhuisen faces allegations of abusing his DA-allocated credit card. These claims are now the subject of a party internal investigation and are said by his detractors to have placed a question mark over his suitability for leadership, because they have allegedly damaged the DA brand.
There is also unhappiness over Steenhuisen’s replacement of former environment minister Dion George with Willie Aucamp, with some claiming Steenhuisen is using cabinet posts to reward his loyalists in the run-up to the DA national congress set for April next year.
The sources say that, even though he previously stated he would not run in the same race as his friend, Hill-Lewis is now under pressure to challenge Steenhuisen if he does not step down before the April congress.
“The appetite for a change has always been there, but in the absence of a strong challenger there was nothing that could be done,” said one source.
“But with the developments of the last few months, there is a strong and growing push in the higher echelons of the party for new leadership to come in, and Geordin is indeed under pressure to reconsider his previously stated position [that he would not stand] against his friend.”
[Geordin Hill-Lewis] has always been considered a prince in the DA, and at some point a prince has to be king.
— Anonymous DA insider
The insiders said that, as matters stand, the “charismatic” Cape Town mayor is the only candidate who could trounce Steenhuisen.
“If he avails himself, he will beat John hands down. Look, GHL has always been considered a prince in the DA, and at some point a prince has to be king,” said one of those who spoke to the Sunday Times this week.
The 38-year-old Cape Town mayor is a Helen Zille protégé whose star began rising in 2011, when he became one of the youngest members of parliament at the age of 24.
DA leadership nominations will open in the second week of January 2026.
Sources also indicated that the push for a leadership change was not necessarily being championed by members of the DA’s federal executive (FedEx), but rather by a strong lobby of influential provincial chairs and leaders, as well as powerful MPs.
Such persons include prominent figures from provinces such as the Western Cape, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. Gauteng and the Western Cape and Kwazulu-Natal send the biggest voting blocs to DA congresses.
“There has always been unhappiness over his decision to take us into the government of national unity, and now that lobby has regrouped and is growing, given the events of the past few months,” a source said.
Well-placed officials also indicated that there is unhappiness among DA donors that the party’s dirty financial laundry has been aired in public, with some of them pulling the plug on donations until the leadership issue has been sorted out.
“Once those issues are mentioned in the public domain, you harm the DA brand, built on clean governance. There is [an investigative process under way], but in politics perception is everything,” said one leader.
Another source said that, in terms of their discussions, it is likely that, if he is ousted, Steenhuisen will be retained in the cabinet, with Hill-Lewis leading the party from his office in the Cape Town civic centre.
“It looks like Geordin Hill-Lewis is going to contest John, because business doesn’t want John any more,” the source said. “They believe his shenanigans are costing the party dearly. They are now strongly pushing for Geordin to take over the party.
“But they want him to remain the mayor in Cape Town, as they believe it will further strengthen their position in the province. They are concerned about the optics of a DA leader being a subordinate of an ANC president. It doesn’t look good. The funders are saying he should not be in the executive like John.”
Hill-Lewis yesterday reiterated that he would not enter the race as long Steenhuisen was running.
Asked if he would avail himself if his friend stepped down, he said: “I’d prefer not to comment on hypotheticals.”
An Eastern Cape DA leader said that, among other reasons, Steenhuisen also faced opposition from that province over how its provincial leader, Andrew Whitfield, was fired as deputy minister of trade, industry & competition in June, claiming Steenhuisen had failed to push back against his sacking.
“He agreed with [President Cyril] Ramaphosa that Whitfield should be fired, and he pushed back only after the federal executive took a stand. And look at how he took his time to announce a replacement. At a time when the government is negotiating with the US on trade, we are not in the room. Only he is in the room. That is not a leader — that is an opportunist,” the leader said.
But those in Steenhuisen’s corner say he is staying put in his position and is confident of being re-elected next year, as he has apparently secured the support of the majority of provinces.
“[The] dynamics across the party are [such] that John is very strong across the provinces,” said one Steenhuisen sympathiser. “He built his bases there. It’s only two provinces where there will be a battle. The Western Cape will be divided … and then in Gauteng there is a bitter cabal because they didn’t make it to the provincial unity government. So a contender is likely to come from them as well.”
Meanwhile, top ANC leaders are said to be monitoring whether Steenhuisen will be replaced next year, with party figures such as secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and Ramaphosa said to be warm to the prospect of working with Hill-Lewis under the auspices of the GNU.
“We have a few teething problems, but it works. If we have the right person leading the DA, and that person works well with the ANC president, we have a winning formula,” said one leading ANC insider.
“The business community and the funders of the DA, who are also in some ways close to the president, have communicated their own frustration with the leadership in the DA, so it’s in the interest of the ANC and the country for us to get acquainted with whoever is poised to take over from John.
“We are not trying to influence the race, but we have to understand where people want to take the GNU.”
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