End of the line for John Steenhuisen

The leader of South Africa’s second-largest political party confirmed he’s stepping down in April, ending months of speculation about whether he’ll bow to pressure from within its ranks to quit. 

John Steenhuisen, who has headed the Democratic Alliance since 2019, said he won’t seek another term when the party holds its elective conference in April.

“I have delivered everything that I promised my party when I was first elected as federal leader,” he told reporters in the port city of Durban on Wednesday.

“My term will be remembered for leading the DA into national government and putting South Africa on a new path to prosperity.”

The DA is a member of South Africa’s 10-party ruling coalition that was formed after the African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority in 2024 elections.

Steenhuisen’s departure may test its stability anew, after a series of rifts over legislation, tax policy and government appointments.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, has signaled his intention to contest the top DA post and is widely seen as the frontrunner to win it. He has said he favors remaining in the so-called government of national unity, but that the terms of engagement need to be improved. 

Steenhuisen, 49, also serves as South Africa’s agriculture minister, one of six DA members in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet.

Hill-Lewis plans to run for a second mayoral term in municipal elections that must be held within the next 12 months and doesn’t plan to join the national executive. 

Steenhuisen has faced criticism from within the DA over the ruling coalition’s policy choices, while his handling of a deadly outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has angered cattle farmers — a key party constituency. 

He also became embroiled in a public spat with the DA’s finance chief, who later quit the party, and was implicated in misusing a credit card — although an internal probe cleared him of wrongdoing. His plans to vacate his party post were widely reported on Tuesday. 

Steenhuisen said he will now focus all his time and energy on his role as agriculture minister.

“It would not be fair to the incredible farmers of South Africa for me to split my time between battling the worst foot-and-mouth disease outbreak ever on the one hand, while also running an internal campaign for the next three months and then leading a local-government election campaign,” he said.

Hill-Lewis, 39, was appointed as the mayor of Cape Town in 2021 and has drawn praise for his management of the city, a tourist mecca that’s widely viewed as the best-run of the country’s eight large metropolitan areas.

Steenhuisen’s other potential successors include Solly Malatsi, the communications minister, and Siviwe Gwarube, the basic education minister. 

“The next duly-elected DA leader can rely on my full support and will be given the space to lead the party as they see fit,” Steenhuisen said. “The DA is now consistently polling at 30%, and is within striking distance of becoming the biggest political party in South Africa.”