DA’s use of Cape Town council chambers for party event draws ire from opposition parties

A screenshot from video footage allegedly showing a DA gathering inside the City of Cape Town Council Chamber. The DA’s use of the City of Cape Town’s council chamber for a party-political event while formal council meetings continue to be held online has drawn criticism from opposition parties in the City Council. The GOOD Party councillor Sandra Dickson said that video footage from Saturday, 25 July 2026, which shows the DA occupying the Council Chamber in the Podium Block of the Cape Town Civic Centre,creates an extraordinary contradiction.

Dickson questioned the inconsistency of allowing such an event in the chamber when councillors are still required to participate in council meetings virtually. “This raises a serious question: if the Council Chamber is available, safe and suitable for a DA party meeting, why is it not being used for the democratic business of Council?” she said. ANC Dullah Omar Region Chairperson and City of Cape Town leader of the Opposition, Ndithini Tyhido, said that they are “quite dismayed, but not surprised by the DA’s abuse of power”. He said that using the chamber for the DA’s party political activities, “where its members gathered in council, using council drinking water, using council security and protection services, using council’s audio material and systems, all at the expense of the ratepayer.”