John Steenhuisen dodges a bullet

The Pretoria High Court did not grant the urgent relief sought by Sakeliga and others in their case against Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen and his department for their handling of South Africa’s foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak.

This comes after a coalition comprising Sakeliga, the Southern African Agri Initiative (Saai), and Free State Agriculture applied to the court for relief regarding what they alleged was Steenhuisen’s unlawful prohibition on private-sector vaccine production and administration.

The matter was heard on Tuesday, 24 March, and Steenhuisen welcomed the outcome in a press statement released the same day.

According to the minister, the court affirmed his department’s lawful authority to regulate and manage South Africa’s response to FMD.

South Africa’s FMD outbreak started in April 2025 and has since spread to all nine provinces, with farmers across the country battling the highly contagious disease.

Amid the outbreak, Steenhuisen has found himself under severe scrutiny from South African farmers and other industry stakeholders for his handling of the crisis.

This scrutiny reached a boiling point in January 2026, when the Sakeliga coalition approached the court to review and set aside what they allege is Steenhuisen’s “unlawful prohibition” on private FMD vaccinations.

The coalition applied for further or alternative relief as applicable, claiming there was no legal basis for Steenhuisen’s ban.

This matter was sent to court-prescribed mediation between the parties. However, these discussions proved unsuccessful.

This led the coalition to apply to the High Court for urgent relief, seeking an interdict restraining the state from blocking private individuals and entities from administering registered or authorised FMD vaccines to livestock.

In addition, the coalition sought to prohibit the state from interfering with the contractual relationships between those legally importing the vaccine and their suppliers.

However, the court did not grant this relief, with the matter postponed and the Agriculture Department given a defined and reasonable timeframe within which to publish a vaccination scheme in terms of existing legislation.

‘Premature and misdirected’

In his press statement, Steenhuisen claimed that the application brought by Sakeliga and others would have effectively allowed unregulated private procurement and administration of FMD vaccines outside the established national framework.

“The outcome reinforces the principle that South Africa’s biosecurity response must be coordinated, science-based, and aligned with national and international standards,” Steenhuisen said.

“This matter was never simply about access to vaccines. It was about ensuring that South Africa’s response to FMD remains credible, coordinated, and compliant with the legal framework that protects both our national herd and our export markets.”

He claimed that the coalition’s attempt to secure urgent court intervention to bypass established regulatory processes was both premature and misdirected.

“The court has recognised that there are no grounds for urgent intervention that would disrupt the state’s ongoing disease control strategy,” he said. 

“This is an important affirmation of the role of government in managing animal health risks in a  structured and responsible manner.”

In this regard, Steenhuisen said South Africa’s FMD strategy is progressing, with vaccine procurement, distribution, and administration continuing under strict regulatory oversight, and with additional consignments of vaccines already secured.

“Our priority remains clear – to stabilise outbreaks, protect the national herd, and restore South Africa’s animal health status in line with international standards,” he said. 

He added that this approach requires discipline, coordination, and adherence to the law, “not fragmentation”.

“We will continue to engage constructively with all stakeholders. But we will not compromise on the principles that underpin an effective biosecurity system,” Steenhuisen said.