Former Patriotic Alliance and now-returned Democratic Alliance (DA) member Liam Jacobs says he plans to resume his anti-corruption activism within the DA after becoming increasingly uncomfortable with what he described as the PA’s unwavering support for the ANC and President Cyril Ramaphosa.
He also said emerging “Jacob Zuma-like tendencies” within the party and divisive rhetoric during his brief stint in Gayton McKenzie’s party also precipitated his decision to serve the organisation with divorce papers.
Speaking to Africa Daily,Jacobs said his decision to return to the opposition party was rooted not in personalities but in what he called irreconcilable ideological differences with the Patriotic Alliance.
“People think politics is a personality-based thing. I fundamentally disagree with that. What we do in politics is fundamentally ideological,” he said
The former DA MP said concerns over patronage, the PA’s approach to immigration and what he viewed as its consistent defence of the ANC ultimately convinced him that his political future lay back in the DA, where he now intends focusing on exposing corruption and amplifying the experiences of communities affected by poor governance.
His remarks come days after McKenzie publicly criticised Jacobs’ departure, warning him to stop speaking about the PA and claiming that neither he nor senior party leaders had ever trusted him.
Jacobs said one of his biggest concerns was what he described as the PA’s consistent defence of the ANC and President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“One of the points of contention for me was the unrelenting cheerleader-like support of the African National Congress by the Patriotic Alliance,” he said.
“You cannot just blindly support somebody for the sake of a position and then say that any attack levelled against that individual is an attack on your political party. It is about an individual.”
He also accused the party of exploiting racial identity for political purposes.
Jacobs cited the arrest of National Coloured Party (NCC) leader- Fadiel Adams, saying there had been an expectation within the party that members should rally behind him primarily because he was coloured.
“I found the Patriotic Alliance’s instrumentalisation of coloured people to be distasteful,” Jacobs said.
“I cannot imagine how you support somebody simply on the basis of colour and say that person represents all of you in a community that is as diverse as the coloured community.”
In perhaps his strongest criticism, Jacobs said he had begun noticing what he called “Zuma-like tendencies” within the PA.
“What do I mean by this?” he said.
“You start learning the names of people in the Patriotic Alliance and then you start seeing they are on boards, they are serving here, they are serving there. Some of them are putting their hands up to do projects and they are getting those projects.”
“It is a very worrisome tendency that I started to notice.”
Jacobs also took aim at the party’s approach to immigration, arguing that some of its rhetoric risked fuelling violence.
“I find that the Patriotic Alliance’s stance on immigration is a stance that projects and incites violence,” he said.
“The sovereignty of this country must be protected, our borders must be strengthened and the rule of law must prevail. However, we cannot dehumanise people.”
He warned that harmful rhetoric often precedes violence.
“Blood does not end up on our streets just like that. It starts with rhetoric and it starts with degrading the human value of people.”
The comments amount to one of the most direct public critiques yet by a former senior PA figure and are likely to deepen tensions between Jacobs and McKenzie.
Last week, McKenzie accused Jacobs of failing to connect with communities and suggested he had not done enough groundwork while serving in the party.
Jacobs rejected that claim outright.
“I’ve been to communities where he sent me. He sent me to Paarl, Stellenbosch, Vanrhynsdorp, George, Knysna, Mossel Bay, Kimberley and Platfontein,” he said.
“To say I was non-existent in the party is simply not true.”
He also questioned McKenzie’s assertion that PA leaders never trusted him.
“I laugh at that because it is very funny to say you didn’t trust somebody, but you were going to send them to Parliament,” Jacobs said.
“I think South Africans must wake up to the contradictions that are at play within our body politic.”
Jacobs left the DA last year and joined the PA, where he was appointed president of the Patriotic Youth Alliance and was later touted as a potential mayoral candidate for Cape Town ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
At the time, he described the PA as a political home where he felt welcomed and valued.
His return to the DA was announced last week by DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis, who said Jacobs had rejected what he called the PA’s “politics of chaos and criminality”.
Looking ahead, Jacobs said he intends to return to activism and anti-corruption work within the DA.
“One of the biggest acts of dignity that you can afford a community in this country is sightedness – saying that I see you,” he said.
“I’m going to be across the length and breadth of this country showing what corruption looks like, telling the stories of people impacted by corruption, and I’m excited to do that going forward.”