In a move that stunned his supporters and detractors alike, DA federal leader John Steenhuisen announced that he will not contest the party’s upcoming leadership race.
The announcement, made in Durban North’s Ward 39, carried a heavy dose of symbolism: this was the very ward where Steenhuisen’s political odyssey began decades ago as a young member of the Durban North Ratepayers Association, before rising to become a councillor in the eThekwini municipality.
The venue was thick with anticipation long before his arrival. Whispers filled the room: some said Steenhuisen had been forced out of the party by the weight of recent controversies, while others insisted they would stand behind him, come what may.
When he finally walked in, flanked by his wife, Terry, and a handful of aides, the tension broke into warm applause.
Yet even amid the cheers, Steenhuisen could not hide the toll of the past few days. He looked nervous, paler than usual, his smile betraying the strain of a leader under siege.
All the key DA figures in KwaZulu-Natal filled the room, lending the occasion the air of a final farewell. Members of the Ratepayers Association, who had witnessed his earliest steps in politics, were also present, watching as the man they had once helped nominate now stood before them to close the circle of his career.
‘Mission accomplished’
During his speech, Steenhuisen described his era at the helm of the DA as “mission accomplished.” He reflected on the improbable journey that had taken the DA from perpetual opposition into the corridors of national government.
“Not long ago, it was unthinkable that the leader of the DA would ever walk up the steps to the Union Buildings,” he said. “But once we got the DA back on track after my election as federal leader in 2019, we set out to achieve exactly this in the 2024 general election: to enter national government for the first time.”
He reminded his audience of the DA’s “Moonshot” strategy, which culminated in the party entering the Government of National Unity in 2024. Against all odds, he said, the DA had bent “the arc of history” away from decline and despair, towards growth and renewed hope.
Not long ago, it was unthinkable that the leader of the DA would ever walk up the steps to the Union Buildings. But once we got the DA back on track after my election as federal leader in 2019, we set out to achieve exactly this in the 2024 general election: to enter national government for the first time.
— DA leader John Steenhuisen
“In the long story of the DA and its predecessors dating back at least to 1959, there is only one leadership era that will ever be remembered for marshalling our party across the Rubicon, into national government. Only one. And it is this one.”
Steenhuisen spoke proudly of nurturing new talent in the DA, citing leaders such as Siviwe Gwarube, Leon Schreiber, Dean Macpherson and Geordin Hill-Lewis, who had become household names during his tenure. He insisted that the DA had matured into a party that “delivers for all South Africans, from all backgrounds.”
Echoes of Maimane
The announcement carried echoes of another sombre moment in DA history: the resignation of Steenhuisen’s predecessor, Mmusi Maimane, who stepped down in 2018 after a dismal election outcome.
Where Maimane’s departure was marked by disappointment and recrimination, Steenhuisen sought to frame his exit as a victory lap — a leader leaving on his own terms, after achieving what many thought impossible.
Yet the symbolism was unmistakable. Both men departed under clouds of controversy, both leaving behind a party at a crossroads.
Reactions from allies and supporters
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for finance, Francois Rodgers, admitted to being taken aback, “He has achieved everything that he sought to achieve. I guess it was time for him to go. But we will support him in whatever endeavours he chooses. Who knows, there could still be a KZN contestant in the upcoming DA elections.”
The DA’s Federal Congress, where Steenhuisen’s successor will be chosen, is expected to take place in April.
For some, the announcement was deeply personal. Johann van den Berg, 75, a stalwart of the Durban North Ratepayers Association, recalled his long association with Steenhuisen.
“I have known John for more than 35 years. I was serving as the deputy chairperson when he came along. He was so active that in later years he became chairperson and I was his deputy. One day, he came to me and told me that he wanted to be a councillor. I signed off his nomination document and my wife Michelle seconded me. Ever since then we have been following his political career, the highs and the lows.
“He called a few days ago and told me that he is not running. I told him that this was very sad, as I believed there was still much more he could achieve. I guess every good thing has to come to an end.”
A checkered journey
Steenhuisen’s career has been marked by both achievement and controversy. From his early days in eThekwini, where detractors accused the DA of shielding him from political storms, to his rise in the National Assembly, he has remained a figure who polarises opinion.
His choice of Ward 39 as the venue for his announcement was not accidental— it was a return to the place where his journey began, a symbolic closing of the circle.
As the applause faded and the DA leader slipped quietly out of the hall, the sense of an era ending was unmistakable. For his supporters, it was a day of sadness; for his critics, perhaps vindication. But for Steenhuisen himself, it was a moment of closure — delivered in the ward that first gave him a political voice.
Steenhuisen said he would now devote his full attention to his role as the minister of agriculture in the government of national unity and his main focus would be eradicating food-and-mouth disease, which is affecting many farmers from whom he has drawn ire and the threat of litigation.
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