John Steenhuisen’s scandals

John Steenhuisen has faced many controversies in his political career, ranging from an extramarital affair to allegations of misusing party funds.

Steenhuisen was born in Durban on 25 March 1976 and matriculated from Northwood Boys’ High School in 1993.

He showed an interest in politics from a young age, serving as Branch Chairperson for Ward 36, Durban North, in his late teens.

In 1999, when he was 22, he was elected to the Durban City Council. He was one of the youngest councillors in the city’s history.

In 2006, Steenhuisen was elected as the caucus leader of the official opposition, the Democratic Alliance, on the eThekwini Council.

He represented Durban North in the eThekwini Council until the 2009 General Election, where he was elected Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature.

In 2010, he took up a seat in the National Assembly and served as the DA Shadow Minister on Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (COGTA).

In May 2014, Steenhuisen was appointed Chief Whip of the Official Opposition, a position he held until October 2019.

In November 2020, John Steenhuisen was elected Federal Leader of the Democratic Alliance, having served as Interim Leader since November 2019.

Under his leadership, the Democratic Alliance grew in the 2024 General Election. It is the second largest party in South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU).

Steenhuisen was appointed as Agriculture Minister in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s GNU cabinet. However, this tenure was marred by controversies.

Last month, DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to reshuffle his cabinet, which included removing Steenhuisen as Minister of Agriculture.

Steenhuisen was appointed Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, a significant demotion.

He has endured many controversies and scandals during his political career, which included a few as DA leader and Agriculture Minister.

These controversies made headlines in recent weeks, and Newsday looked at a few of them.

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Extramarital affair in 2010

John Steenhuisen’s first significant controversy was in 2010, when he resigned as KwaZulu-Natal provincial leader amid the disclosure of an extramarital affair.

The Witness reported that he had an affair with DA media officer Terry Beaumont, who was married to then DA provincial director, Michael Beaumont.

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Party fund misuse allegations in 2025

Last year, Daily Maverick reported that the DA’s federal finance committee had to remove Steenhuisen’s party credit card because the account could not be reconciled.

Steenhuisen acknowledged that the card was returned to the party but claimed that he made the decision to do so. The DA cleared Steenhuisen.

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Foot-and-mouth disease mismanagement allegations and his legal defeat in 2026

Steenhuisen was accused of mismanaging the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak through his state-controlled stance as Minister of Agriculture.

A legal battle ensued, and the Pretoria High Court ruled against Steenhuisen, finding that his department had unlawfully prohibited farmers from vaccinating their cattle.

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A leaked email from John Steenhuisen’s chief of staff in 2026

A leaked email from Jana le Roux, Steenhuisen’s former special advisor and chief of staff, poked fun at a concerned farming group, FMD Response SA.

This leak prompted an apology and further damaged the Agriculture Ministry’s relationship with the South African farming community.

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Dismissing Roman Cabanac as his chief of staff in 2025

John Steenhuisen terminated Roman Cabanac’s contract and dismissed him as Chief of Staff on 5 June 2025, following a social media campaign against Cabanac.

Cabanac said that Steenhuisen unilaterally terminated his employment contract, without affording any formal notice, reasons, or adherence to due process.

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Theo de Jager was removed from an official photo

Theo de Jager was part of a delegation that joined Steenhuisen on a trip to the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Berlin. He was then removed from the photo.

The Department of Agriculture and Steenhuisen blamed a junior staff member for editing De Jager out of a group photo.

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