LISTEN | DA 2026 Congress: Three black women shake up the leadership race
With John Steenhuisen and Helen Zille stepping aside, the DA’s 2026 Federal Congress (11–12 April, Gauteng) opens a new race. Three prominent black women—Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube (deputy federal chair), DA spokesperson Karabo Khakhau (first deputy chair of the Federal Council), and Western Cape MPL Nomafrench Mbombo (deputy federal chair or Fed Council deputy chair)—are in the running. Their distinct bases (Gugulethu–Nyanga, George, Free State) and ability to build cross-provincial alliances will be decisive, reviving debates on diversity, internal machinery, and grassroots reach first spotlighted by Mbali Ntuli’s 2020 challenge.
