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The ANC has accused the DA of abusing the courts to score 'cheap political points'.
Entrance of the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. Picture: Gallo Images / Alet Pretorius
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has faced another setback in its efforts to have cadre deployment declared unconstitutional.
On Wednesday, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria dismissed the DA’s application for leave to appeal a previous ruling that favoured the African National Congress (ANC).
The DA had lodged the appeal in February last year after the court ruled that political influence on government decisions was not the same as unconstitutional interference.
The court held that it is not unlawful for a political party to shape government policy or influence senior appointments in the public sector, as long as the public service isn’t misused for party politics.
Delivering the latest ruling, Gauteng Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba concluded that there was no likelihood of a different outcome should another court hear the matter.
“This case, far from the DA’s contentions, does not raise questions of constitutional law that are of considerable public importance,” he said.
Ledwaba rejected the DA’s claim that the earlier judgment conflicted with another legal precedent, which found that appointments influenced by political considerations were unlawful.
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He found that the two matters were not comparable.
“There is no need to regurgitate ten bases upon which the two cases are distinguishable.
“The upshot is that the DA failed to demonstrate compelling reasons for granting leave,” the judge continued.
He further said the merits of DA’s appeal were “poor”.
“The application for leave to appeal is dismissed,” the judgment reads.
The DA was also ordered to pay for the ANC’s legal costs.
Despite the loss, DA leader John Steenhuisen previously stated that the party would pursue the matter to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) if necessary.
The ANC has since reacted to the ruling.
“The high court’s dismissal of the DA’s attempt to appeal the ruling on the ANC’s cadre deployment policy is yet another blow to the DA’s obsession with pursuing narrow-minded political games at the expense of genuine democratic progress,” the party said in a statement.
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“The court found, once again, that the DA’s case had no reasonable prospects of success, failed to identify any unconstitutional elements in the policy, and relied on speculative, unproven allegations.”
The ANC went on to accuse the party of misusing the judiciary to score “cheap political points”.
The party suggested the DA should instead focus on contributing to substantive policy debates and practical solutions for the country.
The DA secured a separate legal win in its ongoing battle over cadre deployment.
In February 2024, the ConCourt ruled in favour of the DA, compelling the ANC to release records from its deployment committee within five days.
These records — dating back to 2013 — include meeting minutes, emails, and WhatsApp messages, and are now in the public domain.
Although the ANC publicly released the documents, according to the DA, many were heavily redacted, and some were still missing.
As a result, the DA asked the court to intervene for contempt of court.
The ANC tried to appeal but lost, and the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria confirmed that the party was in contempt.
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