His return comes less than a year after he left the DA.
Liam Jacobs will be moving back to the DA. Picture: X/@LiamJacobsZA
Liam Jacobs will be moving back to the Democratic Alliance (DA) from the Patriotic Alliance (PA), less than a year after leaving the party.
According to reports, DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis made the case for Jacobs’ return as a consultant during an online meeting on Sunday evening.
U-turn
Hill-Lewis welcomed Jacobs’ return to the party.
“Liam’s return to the DA is a reflection of the kind of party we are building. A big, growing and inclusive political home for all South Africans who want our country to work. Liam Jacobs left the PA because he saw firsthand that the PA never delivers on promises.
“People sometimes take the wrong road. What matters is whether they are willing to correct course and recommit themselves to the work of building a better South Africa. That is a sign of maturity and braveness. Liam has done that, and we welcome him back,” Hill-Lewis said.
Bridges burnt
Hill-Lewis added that the DA “will never subscribe to the school of politics that says once a bridge is burnt it can never be repaired.”
“And that once someone has wronged you, they are dead to you. That is unhealthy in politics and in life.”
After his exit from the DA in June 2025, Jacobs said he was “finally free” and “finally home”.
Strange
Meanwhile, former DA member of parliament (MP) Renaldo Gouws did not mince his words about Jacobs’ return to his former party.
“Strange how he returns to the party that he stabbed in the back, and not only do they welcome him back with open arms, but none of the reasons he left were addressed before his return. This is clearly a case of Liam not getting what he was promised by the PA and Gayton, and now returning with his tail between his legs, and the desperate DA gladly accepts him back.
“My question is, considering what he said about the DA using him as a coloured person, has that been resolved in a year, or is he happy being used now because he didn’t get what he was promised by the PA? Desperate times call for desperate measures, it seems. I suppose the DA is forced to trust him not to jump ship again, and Liam needs the DA to become relevant again. They deserve each other,” Gouws said.
Termination
Gouws’ DA membership was terminated in 2024 after a 2010 video of him making racial comments using the K-word surfaced on social media just days after he was sworn in as a DA MP.
He landed in hot water again after a second video showed the seemingly angry DA MP referring to black South Africans using the K-word.
