A covert leadership bid is rupturing the DA ahead of its April conference, with Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga weighing a challenge to party leader John Steenhuisen.
Sunday World can reveal that the second prize for the Msimanga lobby, according to internal party sources, is to go head-to-head with federal chairperson Ivan Meyer. These internal manoeuvres are likely to inject direct confrontation into a gathering already fraught with tension over the party’s direction.
This means Steenhuisen’s bid for a second term is now threatened by a specific and calculated internal challenge, as key figures jockey for influence. While he consolidated power after a decisive 2023 leadership victory, the upcoming elective conference has been thrown into disarray by behind-the-scenes moves to draft Msimanga into a senior contest.
According to senior party insiders, Msimanga is being actively lobbied and is considering a run for a top position.
His potential targets are twofold: a direct challenge to Steenhuisen for the party leadership or a bid to unseat the influential federal chairperson, Meyer.
This strategic ambiguity is calculated to maximise leverage and exploit reported divisions in critical provinces.
A senior party ally acknowledged the fragile support for the incumbent, stating, “John Steenhuisen still has seven solid provinces behind him, but both the Western Cape and Gauteng are divided.”
Msimanga’s potential pivot to challenge Meyer is widely regarded as an uphill battle should the current chairperson seek re-election.
Meyer has been a steadfast figure in the DA’s national leadership for more than a decade, first elected as a deputy federal chairperson in 2015, assuming the role of federal chairperson in 2020, and securing a second term in 2023.
Steenhuisen himself faces criticism over his leadership style within the government of national unity (GNU), with detractors arguing that he has failed to sufficiently assert the DA’s independence against the ANC – a charge his supporters reject as overlooking the necessary pragmatism.
Amid this turmoil, other speculated candidates appear to be standing aside. Former Tshwane mayor, Cilliers Brink dismissed speculation of a top-level run, telling Sunday World, “I am not running for the top position.”
Conversely, Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis is seen as a firm Steenhuisen ally, with a party source indicating he will not mount a challenge.
“Geordin is in John’s cabal, which means he will not contest him. John will serve his term and then hand over the baton to him,” the source said.
Further shaping the leadership landscape, federal council chairperson Helen Zille is expected to step back from internal contests to focus on her Johannesburg mayoral bid.
Her ally, deputy finance minister Ashor Sarupen, is expected to vie for a senior leadership position with her backing. Sarupen was first elected to the DA’s national leadership as deputy chairperson of the federal council in 2020 and was re-elected in 2023.
The convergence of Msimanga’s covert manoeuvring against either the leader or chairman, alongside provincial fractures and aligned loyalties, sets the stage for a profoundly contentious congress that will determine the balance of power within the party.
