ANC corruption destroys lives and the PA sold out its voters to the ANC – Liam Jacobs

DA member Liam Jacobs said the Patriotic Alliance (PA) has sold out its voters to the ANC, whose corruption destroys lives and robs futures.

Jacobs, who recently left the PA to re-join the DA, shared the reasons behind this high-profile move in a media statement.

He said he should never have left the DA. “I believed Gayton. I believed the PA promises. I personally realised I had been misled by lies. I admit, I made a mistake,” he said.

He sang the DA’s praises, saying he was deeply aware of what the political party had done for him.

“It was the DA who took a young activist from the Northern Cape, developed him in Gauteng, and seated him in the National Assembly at only 23,” he said,

He admitted that, in June 2025, he left the DA in a manner that disrespected the organisation that had gone to great lengths to invest in his development.

“I followed it up with statements on social media that caused great harm to the people who extended their trust and support to me. My departure was disgraceful,” he said.

“I wholeheartedly apologise to DA voters, leadership, public reps, activists and staff for causing harm to the party.”

“I do not expect forgiveness immediately. I understand that trust must be earned again, and I am committed to rebuilding it through my actions.”

He said that as the months rolled on during his time at the PA, he saw behind the curtain of the party.

“I witnessed the culture, the people and the focus of a party that explicitly contravenes my values,” he said.

He said that when Gayton McKenzie offered him a return to Parliament, his values could not allow him to return as a PA MP.

“I could not, in good conscience, serve the people of South Africa whilst being in the Patriotic Alliance (PA),” he said.

The PA has sold out its voters to the ANC

He accused the PA of selling out its voters to the ANC. “It is an uncritical supporter, a cheerleader in fact. Both in parliament and in public,” he said.

“The ANC’s corruption destroys lives and robs futures. Yet, no matter what ANC corruption is exposed, the PA never holds them to account.”

He argued that the DA is unafraid to hold the ANC accountable. “It speaks out openly when it disagrees and uses its role in the GNU to apply pressure,” he said.

“It takes to the streets and the courts, to stand for what is right. Just as it stopped the VAT hike, when the DA wins, the people win.”

He added that, in the PA, they were instructed to defend Fadiel Adams, saying that he was arrested because he was coloured.

“This is false. The allegations against Adams are his own, and he must answer for his actions. His decisions are not a reflection of the coloured community,” he said.

“The PA thinks all coloured people are the same. We are not. We have a rich, diverse culture.”

He added that the DA is built on non-racialism. “They see us as individuals who must be judged on our merit and mistakes, not on our skin colour,” Jacobs said.

He also criticised the PA for xenophobia, having no governance structure, and for cadre deployment.

“Decisions in the PA are made by one man. No one is elected. There is no democracy, and everything is centralised. No checks or balances,” he said.

“There are no meaningful systems to build policy, do oversight, train or build the institutional depth that the work of government requires.”

Warning from Gayton McKenzie

Jacobs’ comment followed a warning from Gayton McKenzie, the President and founder of the Patriotic Alliance (PA), that he should not attack his former party.

Liam didn’t work the ground. When we were working, he went to Rwanda. He never worked the ground with us. So, we could see he’s on his way out,” McKenzie said.

“He never understood that the Patriotic Alliance is not an upper-middle-class party. We are a party on the ground.”

“We have the lowest LSM voters. These are people with no income, no opportunities, and nothing. Those are the people who vote for PA.”

According to McKenzie, Jacobs struggled to speak to this audience. “We tried to move him around and expose him to that reality,” he said.

He added that there seemed to have been a conflict between Jacobs and Cheslyn Steenberg, the PA’s Mayoral Candidate for the City of Cape Town.

“When Cheslin arrived, there was a big change in our strategy. Liam then said to me that he did not think he was the right person for this,” McKenzie said.

“He said it to me, and I agreed. He just couldn’t break through on the ground. For me, I could never just let Liam go.”

“I found him at Parliament. As a brother-in-arms, the idea was to put him back there, because you can’t just throw someone like that away.”

“He trusted the PA. When it happened, I told the guys, ‘Let him go to Parliament, maybe we’ll see.’ But I always knew the ground was not for him.”

Although McKenzie still respects Jacobs as a politician, he did not mince his words. “So, he did what he did, and I must respect him as a man,” he said.

“I’m older than him. If Liam wants war with the PA, he should continue with what he’s doing. We will make social media very uncomfortable for him.”

McKenzie highlighted that he did not want to attack Jacobs. “We don’t want that. We don’t want war. We want to wish him well,” he said.