The DA has been accused of mistreating veteran and former minister Dr Dion George and harming his reputation following his resignation last week. 

The DA characterised his resignation as an attempt to avoid answering to serious internal disciplinary charges. 

This is after the party’s Federal Council Chairperson, Helen Zille, described George’s resignation as “unfortunate”, adding that he left before the internal disciplinary processes against him could conclude. 

George announced his immediate resignation from the DA and his seat in Parliament on January 15, describing his situation in the party as “intolerable”, stating that he was being “pushed out”. 

His departure follows several months of internal conflict in the DA’s leadership and a report by the party’s Federal Legal Commission (FLC) that cleared the party’s leader, John Steenhuisen, of allegations regarding the misappropriation of party funds.

He also labelled the report a “whitewash”.

Zille, in her statement issued shortly after George announced his resignation, said the allegations he faced included irregular staff appointments to his ministerial office and inflated salaries at public expense. 

She added that he also faced accusations that the staff in his ministry sought departmental information to pursue internal party political matters, bringing the party into disrepute through the media. 

Zille stated that it would have been preferable for George to go through the FLC process to test the veracity of these allegations. 

In his response to Zille, George accused the DA leadership of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against him following his resignation from the party. 

George alleges the campaign was intended to justify his removal and hide “criminal ecosystems”, citing being targeted for blocking Steenhuisen’s party credit card in 2020 due to “serious financial irregularities” and refusing to support the captive lion breeding industry.

A former DA member, who worked closely with George during his tenure as the provincial finance chairperson for Gauteng, said this is the definition of how “smear campaigns” work, adding that he doesn’t believe the allegations, as George is a man of integrity. 

The source also described George as an honest and truthful leader who is credible and ethical. 

“A series of rumours has been put out to different media outlets in such a way that it doesn’t appear to have fingerprints of the DA’s leadership, and this is a definition of how a smear campaign works. This took place even before his resignation,” he said. 

In December 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa removed George from his position as Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE), following Steenhusen’s formal request, citing poor performance.

Steenhuisen publicly stated that he intended for George to move to the position of Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, citing his economic and finance expertise.

The source said it was concerning why the DA would offer him a position in the Trade and Industry Department while he is guilty of misconduct.

The source added that it doesn’t make sense that the DA sat on this information until the fallout between George and Steenhuisen.

The DA spokesperson, Jan de Villiers, insisted that George avoided responding to the FLC. 

“I refer to our media statement, the DA was not afforded the opportunity by Dr George to conclude its FLC disciplinary procedure against him, and therefore no final finding against him could or has been made, as he quit the party before the internal FLC process could be completed,” he said. 

However, another source claimed that from the working relationship he had with George, he doubted that the allegations levelled against him could be true. 

The insider also claimed that this is a “smear campaign” to discredit George because he is seen as a threat, particularly because he questioned some of the party’s decisions from the party. 

George’s legal representative, Ashley Gittins, also described the DA’s allegations as “character assassination”.

“The character assassination of our client has been set out both in our client’s resignation and our formal statement. The spurious allegations against our client keep changing and to date, are unsubstantiated,” he said.

In response to Zille, Gittins said these allegations have never been formally put to George in writing, to date. 

George, who joined the DA in 1995, resigned after a 31-year association with the party.

manyane.manyane@inl.co.za

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