Good party hit with fine over undeclared election campaign material donation

The Good party has been ordered to pay nearly R100 000 in penalties after the Electoral Court found that it failed to disclose a donation received ahead of the 2021 local government elections.

The ruling, handed down on Wednesday, 26 August 2026, found the party had contravened provisions of the Political Party Funding Act (PPFA) by failing to properly account for and disclose the donation.

Good party donation in dispute

The case stems from the purchase of campaign material by Good from Kairos Communications in the run-up to the 2021 municipal elections.

The party purchased T-shirts and other political marketing material from the company for R1 972 365.

A payment of R900 000 was later made by Electrox Properties on behalf of Good in September 2021 in connection with the campaign material.

However, the apparent donation was not disclosed to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), and the transaction did not appear in Good’s annual financial statements.

The matter was brought to the IEC’s attention by former Good national organiser Shaun August, who lodged a complaint with the commission in June 2023.

August was expelled from the party in May 2023 over alleged misconduct.

Following an investigation, the IEC approached the Electoral Court seeking penalties against Good and other parties involved in the transaction.

Both Good and Electrox denied wrongdoing.

Electoral Court judgment

Electoral Court Judge Leicester Adams found that the evidence supported the conclusion that the R900 000 payment was a donation to Good.

The judge pointed to an invoice from Kairos which confirmed the payment.

Although evidence indicated that Electrox paid R900 000 to Incorp Trade and Investment, the documentation showed that Kairos had received the money.

“The denial by Electrox Properties of this payment to Kairos on behalf of the Good party rings hollow.

“The explanation by Electrox Properties that the payment was in respect of ‘a commercial transaction’, the nature of which it has chosen not to disclose, is so far-fetched that it can be rejected out of hand if regard is had to the evidence as a whole,” the 26 August 2026 judgment reads.

The court concluded that the payment was a donation and should have been reported by Electrox.

Good party criticism

Adams also rejected Good’s attempt to distance itself from August, noting that his departure from the party had taken place under “somewhat acrimonious circumstances”.

The party had argued that the donation arrangement had been concluded between August and Saravan Devaraj Govender, the owner of Kairos and Incorp.

However, the court rejected this version.

The judge found that Good had received the T-shirts as a donation because there was no evidence that the party had paid for them or entered into a credit agreement.

As accounting officer, Good secretary-general Brett Herron was also required to ensure that the donation was reported to the IEC in accordance with the PPFA.

“This is clearly an attempt by the Good party to disown Mr August and to suggest that he acted on a frolic of his own.

“This is, however, not possible considering the Good party’s own contention that Mr August was one of its high-ranking members, responsible for the purchase of campaign material.

“His relevant actions were those of the Good party and were indeed approved by the Good party when it received and used the donated t-shirts.

“Moreover, this version of the Good party falls flat because Mr Herron himself was copied in most of the correspondence relating to the payment of R900 000 and the donated T-shirts.”

Penalties

Good was ordered to pay R50 000 for contravening section 9 of the PPFA, which relates to the disclosure of donations.

The party and Herron were further ordered to pay an administrative penalty of R40 000 for contravening section 12 of the Act, which deals with accounting for political party income.

Electrox director Elias Maponya was also ordered to pay a fine of R40 000 for contravening section 12.