President Cyril Ramaphosa has removed Sisisi Tolashe as Minister of Social Development following mounting allegations of corruption and misconduct. Photo credit: @admin
President Cyril Ramaphosa has removed Sisisi Tolashe as Minister of Social Development following growing pressure from the DA and ActionSA over allegations including undeclared luxury vehicle donations, irregular appointments and the alleged misuse of state-paid staff at her private residence. Sindisiwe Chikunga has been appointed acting minister.
President Cyril Ramaphosa fired Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe on Thursday 14 May 2026, ending weeks of mounting pressure from coalition partners and opposition parties over a string of serious allegations that had made her position increasingly untenable. The dismissal was confirmed by Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya in a statement issued on Thursday afternoon.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa has in terms of section 91(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, removed Minister Sisisi Tolashe from the position of Minister of Social Development,” Magwenya said. “In the interim, President Ramaphosa has appointed the Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, as the acting minister in the portfolio pending a full-time appointment in due course.”
Why She Was Fired
Magwenya confirmed that Ramaphosa had engaged directly with Tolashe before acting. “He has had engagements with the minister and he did inform the minister of his decision to remove her from office,” the spokesperson said. “He has felt that due to a number of issues, a lot of which have been ventilated in the public domain, it was best to remove the minister.”
Those issues, which had been accumulating for months and reached a critical point in recent weeks, included the following allegations.
Tolashe allegedly accepted donations of two luxury Chinese SUVs in late 2023, ostensibly intended for the ANC Women’s League, of which she serves as president. She allegedly failed to disclose the vehicles to Parliament as required. Reports further alleged that the vehicles were registered in the names of her children rather than the organisation they were purportedly donated to support.
Tolashe’s special advisor, Ngwako Kgatla, was suspended by the Department of Social Development on Wednesday 13 May 2026 for allegedly falsifying the CV of a relative so that she could obtain employment as Tolashe’s private secretary — a development that further deepened questions about governance within the minister’s office.
Additional allegations included the misuse of state-paid personnel. Reports indicated that a food aide employed through the Department of Social Development had been deployed to work at Tolashe’s private residence in East London rather than in her official capacity, and had allegedly been made to conduct personal errands and transfers of funds. Tolashe denied these allegations and rejected claims that she had been dishonest with Parliament during her appearance before the parliamentary portfolio committee on social development on 6 May 2026.
The DA and ActionSA Push That Tipped the Balance
The immediate trigger for Thursday’s firing was a letter sent to President Ramaphosa by newly elected DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis on 30 April 2026, formally requesting Tolashe’s removal from the Government of National Unity Cabinet.
“President Ramaphosa must immediately remove Minister Sisisi Tolashe from the Government of National Unity, following serious corruption allegations against her,” Hill-Lewis wrote on X. “The GNU cannot ask South Africans to believe in reform while tolerating conduct that undermines it. While the ANC often protects compromised leaders, the DA fights for clean government.”
In his formal letter, Hill-Lewis argued that the standard for continued Cabinet service was not equivalent to the standard for criminal conviction. “Members of the executive must enjoy public confidence and must be able to lead their departments without serious and growing questions over their integrity,” his letter stated. He added that his request was not a prejudgment of any criminal, parliamentary or investigative process underway, but a matter of public confidence in the executive.
ActionSA also added its voice, calling publicly for Tolashe’s dismissal. Both the DA and ActionSA had already laid criminal complaints against Tolashe and raised the matter formally in Parliament. The combination of pressure from two coalition partners proved decisive.
Public and Political Reaction
Reaction to the firing was swift and divided along predictable lines. DA MP Khakhau celebrated the news publicly. “Minister Tolashe is fired! Reg so! Parliament is not a place for criminals! Law and order must prevail,” Khakhau said.
Former Department of Social Development spokesperson Lumka Oliphant, who had been one of Tolashe’s most vocal critics and had herself been suspended and dismissed during Tolashe’s tenure, reacted with visible jubilation. “What an early birthday present from the president!” Oliphant said, posting videos of her reaction on social media. Oliphant had been placed on precautionary suspension on 1 September 2025 and dismissed on 17 October 2025. Tolashe had accused Oliphant of orchestrating a deliberate campaign to mislead the public and undermine her leadership. On 30 April, Oliphant had publicly called on Tolashe to resign. “She must go to the president and submit her resignation so that South Africans can sleep peacefully,” Oliphant said at the time.
The Second Cabinet Firing Under the GNU
Tolashe’s dismissal is only the second time Ramaphosa has fired a minister since the formation of the Government of National Unity following the May 2024 national elections. The first firing came when former Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane was removed from office after her own controversies, while Minister Thembi Simelane was shifted to a different portfolio rather than dismissed when questions arose about her conduct. Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has been on special leave for nearly a year without a clear timeline for his return.
Magwenya indicated that Thursday’s action was targeted and did not signal a broader Cabinet reshuffle. “I’ll be speculating. The president hasn’t briefed me about a wholesale reshuffle at this stage. He was dealing with a particular issue that he had undertaken to attend to, and he has done that,” the spokesperson said.
What Happens Next
Sindisiwe Chikunga takes over the Social Development portfolio in an acting capacity with immediate effect. The Department of Social Development oversees critical welfare programmes including the Social Relief of Distress grant, child grants, disability grants and old age pensions that collectively support tens of millions of South Africans. Magwenya emphasised that stability in the department was the immediate priority. “What is important now going forward is stability in the department,” he said.
Ramaphosa is expected to answer oral questions in Parliament later on Thursday. The criminal complaints lodged against Tolashe by the DA and ActionSA remain active. Tolashe’s own response to her dismissal had not been issued publicly at the time of publication.
Editors Note Sisisi Tolashe has denied the allegations against her and rejected claims that she misled Parliament. She is presumed innocent of any criminal wrongdoing until proven otherwise in a court of law. All allegations referenced in this article are unproven at the time of publication. Mzansi Today Live will update this article as further information becomes available.