John Steenhuisen has finally shattered his prolonged silence following his dramatic and humiliating sacking as agriculture minister by the new Democratic Alliance leadership in a shocking political move last week.
In an exclusive interview, the former DA leader confirmed a secret deal existed where he would keep his ministerial post in exchange for not contesting the April leadership race. He accused Geordin Hill-Lewis of breaking his word and leaving him to grapple with deep personal disappointment.
Steenhuisen revealed that an agreement was struck ensuring he would remain Minister of Agriculture until his cattle vaccination campaign reached its eighty percent target.
“I’m not going to lie to you or the listeners and say to you that I’m not disappointed. I’m deeply disappointed. But I think my disappointment lies more at a personal level than at a professional level. Obviously, the leader of the party chooses who he appoints and disappoints.
“I’ve always respected that. I mean, I’ve been in that position before, but I think, in this instance, for me, the personal issue is that a word was given, and a word was broken.
And that, for me, is the harder part, too, that I’ve had to digest over the last little while… So, yes, I’m disappointed, but I will continue to work and do what I’ve done for the last 30 years,” Steenhuisen said.
He insisted that his word had always been his bond in political dealings.
“Call me old-fashioned, but when I give my word to somebody, they can take that to the bank.
“But clearly, I should have stuck by that old cliched political comment that, ‘if you want to guarantee in politics by a toaster’, because there are no guarantees in politics, and that has been very clearly played out here,” Steenhuisen said.
The former leader explained that stepping down was meant to free him to combat foot-and-mouth disease full time.
“The deal was that I would stand down as leader, but that I would remain on as Minister of Agriculture, at least until I’d been able to reach my target of vaccinating 80% of the cattle.
“Given the fact that one of the reasons I stepped down was to focus full time on the fight against FMD (foot-and-mouth disease). I duly stood down, and now I’ve been removed from that particular fight with much progress having been made, and obviously a long way still to go, but I really wanted to see that through. That was one of the reasons that I stood down, so that I could focus all of my attention on FMD and winning this war.”
“And now I’ve been pulled out of the portfolio. But as I said, the leader appoints, the leader disappoints, and I respect that,” Steenhuisen said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has not yet acted on the DA’s proposed Cabinet reshuffle.
Hyenas Circle In The Political Wilderness
Steenhuisen painted a grim picture of his removal as a feeding frenzy orchestrated by internal enemies.
“The hyenas have been circling for months, waiting for the moment to pounce. And now they’ve torn me down.”
He cautioned the party against pandering to what he labelled the AfriMAGA mob.
Steenhuisen argued that such appeasement would alienate black, coloured and Indian voters who might otherwise support the DA.
Tony Leon And The Starlink Storm
Steenhuisen turned his fire on Tony Leon, his former political mentor and erstwhile DA leader.
He accused Leon of relentlessly driving negative publicity around the foot-and-mouth disease crisis.
Steenhuisen further alleged that Leon’s public relations firm exploited its access to DA leaders to arrange meetings between unity government ministers and commercial clients.
Elon Musk’s Starlink was named among those clients benefiting from such proximity.
Professor Sipho Seepe Analyzes
Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe described the interview as a calculated move to regain ground.
“It’s a form of pleading for sympathy… This may actually work in his favour, or it may also deepen the divisions. Because any new leader must know that the first challenge they face is to heal the wounds that come from the contest.
“So, he (Steenhuisen) is simply saying, those who may seem to have lost because of the changes, he is appealing to them, signalling that they can rally around him.”
Seepe said that Steenhuisen’s remarks are those of a wounded person.
“a wounded person”
When asked if Steenhuisen will face blowback, Seepe offered a blunt assessment.
“No, he has lost power. If you have lost power, you can scream all you want.”
One party source acknowledged that Steenhuisen’s pain was understandable but questioned the wisdom of going public.
“I think most people can absolutely understand why John feels the way he does, and can sympathise with him. But I also think that most would not find it agreeable that that was externally communicated because, after all, that’s not in the best interest of a party,” they said.
Hill-Lewis sidestepped direct questions about Steenhuisen’s grievances and instead pivoted to campaign messaging.
“Our first and highest responsibility is to the public of South Africa. What we do, and the party we are building, really matters. It could define whether South Africa succeeds in future or not. That is the DA’s historic mission, and I feel profoundly responsible to do all I can to try to achieve it.”
He defended engagement between political parties and commercial entities as standard practice.
“Public affairs and government relations are well-established industries in South Africa and around the world. Businesses, NGOs, industry bodies and other organisations routinely engage with political parties and public representatives on matters of public policy. That is entirely lawful and commonplace.
“No evidence has been presented that any DA public representative acted improperly or that any party process or public office was used to advance private commercial interests,” Hill-Lewis said.
The new DA leader dismissed speculation about disciplinary action against Steenhuisen.
“The DA does not comment on hypothetical disciplinary questions based on unsubstantiated claims. Should credible evidence of wrongdoing ever be presented, the party has established processes to deal with such matters.”