Storm Over Civic Honour: Why Cape Town’s Award for Tony Leon Has Set Off a Political Firestorm

Cape Town loves its rituals of recognition, the Freedom of the City parade, the gold medals, the speeches in Council chambers. But this year, the applause barely died down before the controversy began.

The City’s decision to honour former DA leader and party founder Tony Leon with a signing in the Civic Honours Book, its second-highest accolade, has unleashed a wave of anger from opposition parties and community voices who say the award sends the wrong message about who truly builds South Africa’s democracy.

The City defended the honour quietly. The critics were far louder.

What the Honour Means And Why It Matters

For context, the Civic Honours Book is no small gesture. It’s a place where Cape Town records people it calls “extraordinary contributors” to society, individuals recognised for service, impact, sacrifice or global acclaim. Names like Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Richard van der Ross already fill its pages.

This year’s honorees were chosen through a public nomination process early in 2025. Council approved the shortlist, and nominees accepted.

Leon was recognised as a “renowned parliamentarian, diplomat, author, and public intellectual,” and noted for his role in the DA’s negotiating team during the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU).

But many Capetonians asked a different question: What has he done for Cape Town’s most vulnerable?

A History That Complicates the Present

Leon’s political legacy is layered. For some, he represents a sharp political mind, skilled rhetoric, and a career spent shaping opposition politics in Parliament.
For others, he symbolises resistance to transformation and a political era that often clashed with the country’s push for social and economic redress.

Add to that the 2018 controversy, when Resolve Communications, a firm led by Leon and former DA strategist Nick Clelland, received a contract to drive the City’s “drought awareness” campaign during Cape Town’s Day Zero crisis. Critics labelled it a “tender for political friends,” an accusation that resurfaced the moment his name was inked into the honours register.

City Mum on Criteria, Critics Fill the Silence

When the Cape Times asked what exactly qualified Leon for the honour, the City declined to give specifics, instead pointing to a broad statement about honouring exceptional achievement or contribution.

That response only fuelled suspicion.

Good Party councillor Suzette Little slammed the decision as “insensitive and out of touch,” arguing that Leon’s political record sits uncomfortably alongside honourees who fought for justice, equity and dignity.

“It diminishes the struggles of communities still harmed by systems he helped shape,” she said, pointing to the realities of violence and poverty across the Cape Flats.
“Civic honours should rise above party politics, but Leon hasn’t shown the leadership of a statesman.”

On social media, the reaction was just as sharp. Posts circulated asking how someone “opposed to key transformative parts of the Constitution” could be celebrated by a city still battling inequality at every turn. Memes compared the award to “putting a DA bumper sticker on the Constitution.”

ANC: ‘A Reward for Party Loyalty’

The ANC in the Western Cape called the honour “a typical DA abuse of municipal statutes,” accusing the party of using city processes for internal political branding.

Spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni was blistering, saying Leon belonged “nowhere near any honours book” and accusing the DA of neglecting township communities.

He listed ongoing service failures, sewerage spills, gang violence, poor sanitation, uneven disaster response, arguing that the City should focus on fixing the basics rather than “decorating party godfathers.”

His comments reflect a sentiment often echoed in communities across the Cape Flats: that shiny ceremonies in the CBD rarely speak to the lived realities of informal settlements and working-class neighbourhoods.

A Political Expert Weighs In

UWC political analyst Prof. Keith Gottschalk took a more measured stance.
He acknowledged Leon’s contributions to public life but warned that the honour raises eyebrows not only in its timing but because of the drought communication tender that still colours public perception.

“South Africa must avoid the impression of tenders for political friends,” he said.
“If Leon is being inscribed, I hope honourees from across political parties are represented too.”

His point: civic honours should reinforce public trust, not undermine it.

A Fresh Angle: The Real Question Behind the Outrage

At its core, this debate isn’t really about one man or one award.
It’s about what democracy looks like from different corners of Cape Town.

From a City office in the Foreshore, Leon’s career may read like a distinguished public record.
From a home in Khayelitsha, Hanover Park or Delft, where sewage leaks, crime and inequality remain daily realities, those accolades feel distant, even alien.

The outrage reflects a broader, long-standing tension: whether Cape Town’s leadership reflects and recognises all of Cape Town.

An Honour That Sparked a Bigger Conversation

What started as a ceremonial moment has become a flashpoint revealing deep political and social divides in the city. Whether Tony Leon deserves the honour may be subjective but the uproar shows that civic recognition is never just symbolic.

In Cape Town, every accolade tells a story about whose contributions matter, whose voices carry weight, and whose struggles are seen.

And this time, the City’s story has opened a debate far larger than the honour itself.

{Source: IOL}

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