Cape Town, South Africa – Roman Cabanac, the former chief of staff to Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, is challenging his dismissal at the bargaining council, claiming the official reason – dual citizenship preventing security clearance – was a fabrication. This legal battle sheds light on internal DA politics and the fallout from controversial social media posts that plagued Cabanac’s brief tenure.
Cabanac, whose appointment was met with widespread criticism after old social media posts resurfaced, asserts that the reasons provided for his June 2024 dismissal are untrue and were not stipulated in his service contract. He is demanding a payout equivalent to his full five-year term salary, an amount totalling approximately R5 million.
According to Carel Crafford, Cabanac’s legal representative, there is no provision in Cabanac’s service contract prohibiting dual citizenship. Crafford further highlighted that several members of the executive and other state officials, including Dion George, the DA’s former minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment (who holds dual US and South African citizenship), also possess dual nationality, undermining the stated reason for dismissal.
Intriguingly, the issue of dual citizenship was conspicuously absent when Steenhuisen initially asked Cabanac to resign voluntarily in September 2024. Internal DA documents reveal a letter from Steenhuisen to Cabanac, dated 9 September 2024, requesting his resignation after a heated federal executive meeting where Cabanac’s appointment was sharply criticised.
Steenhuisen’s letter painted a picture of a situation spiralling out of control, consuming the “oxygen” around his department, ministry, and the DA itself. He expressed concern that the matter was being “weaponised by my opponents inside and outside the party” and would continue to “cloud every announcement, speech or positive action.”
“This is not a piece of correspondence that I have ever wanted to write. I am afraid that the situation regarding your appointment has spiralled wildly out of control and is now consuming all the oxygen surrounding the department, my ministry and now the DA itself,” reads Steenhuisen’s letter to Cabanac.
Steenhuisen, who had initially defended his decision to appoint Cabanac, conceded that the situation was no longer sustainable. He wrote:
“It is clear to me now, with this latest set of questions, that this matter is simply not going to go away anytime soon and will continue to cloud every announcement, speech or positive action taken by me either in the party or as minister. It will be impossible to actually take credit for any achievement whilst this situation rages. The situation is also now being weaponised by my opponents inside and outside the party.”
He further stressed the DA’s “unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reset the political situation in South Africa” and his inability to be “distracted or undermined in the manner that we are currently.”
Despite this plea, Cabanac refused to resign, remaining in his position until his eventual dismissal in June. The controversy surrounding his appointment stemmed from old social media posts where he allegedly used crude language to refer to President Cyril Ramaphosa and made remarks suggesting that ‘Bantu people’ cannot be democratic, even criticising the DA itself.
Crafford explained that Cabanac’s reluctance to resign was due to having given up his practice, which administered estates, to join Steenhuisen’s office, leaving him without an income if he left. Steenhuisen’s spokesperson, Joylene van Wyk, stated that they would only comment on the matter once the bargaining council process has concluded. In addition to the bargaining council, a case has also been instituted at the Labour Court, though it is not expected to be heard until next year.
This case highlights the intricate challenges faced by political parties and public officials in managing appointments, particularly when past conduct or perceived conflicts of interest come to light. The outcome of Cabanac’s challenge could set a precedent for how such issues are handled within South African political circles.
