John Steenhuisen silenced

Freedom Front Plus leader Corne Mulder said that former DA leader John Steenhuisen was pushed out and then silenced after he spoke publicly about it.

Mulder shared his views about Steenhuisen during a discussion at the 2026 Biznews Conference at the Champagne Sports Resort in the Drakensberg.

He said that Steenhuisen’s mishandling of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak and his clinging to state control caused his downfall as DA leader.

He explained that Steenhuisen caused tremendous damage to the Agricultural sector by failing to heed sound advice on the issue.

“The advice given to John was either not taken seriously or not adhered to, and then you pay a price,” Mulder said.

This price he paid was the DA leadership. Mulder said he was certain that Steenhuisen’s decision not to contest the DA leadership was not voluntary, but forced.

“I spoke to John sometime last year, and he was committed to being available for election as the leader of the Democratic Alliance,” Mulder said.

“As a matter of fact, the fact that he then didn’t make himself available was not a voluntary decision.”

“While I know exactly what happened behind the scenes, I don’t think I should necessarily say it in public. However, he was basically given an ultimatum.”

Mulder said that the agreement was that if he did not stand for DA leader, he would remain the Minister of Agriculture.

Steenhuisen confirmed this publicly, which substantiates Mulder’s version of events regarding his not standing for re-election.

Mulder said that when Steenhuisen was then removed as Agriculture Minister, despite the agreement, he went public.

He accused the new DA leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, of breaking the agreement and not being a man of his word.

Mulder said that Steenhuisen was taken to task behind the scenes for his public statements and has since been silenced.

“You will notice that he is very quiet at the moment, which is not a coincidence. I believe certain steps were taken to keep him quiet,” he said.

“That’s unfortunate that that’s what happens in politics. You can destroy your career very quickly by doing and saying the wrong things”