Tony Leon rejects 'state capture' label in Starlink lobbying row — Former DA leader Tony Leon

Tony Leon has personally rejected allegations that the public affairs firm he chairs, Resolve Communications, used its proximity to DA leaders to lobby government ministers improperly on behalf of private clients – among them Elon Musk’s Starlink – and signalled that the firm is weighing legal action over what it regards as defamatory claims.

In a statement on Tuesday, Leon – the former DA leader and one-time leader of the opposition – said the accusations were framed around proximity, privilege and the language of state capture, but had produced nothing to support them. “Not a single document, not a single unlawful act has been produced, simply because none exists,” he said.

The row stems from a tell-all interview that former DA leader and recently axed agriculture minister John Steenhuisen gave to News24, published on Sunday. In it, Steenhuisen alleged that Resolve – chaired by Leon and run by former DA CEO Paul Boughey – repeatedly arranged meetings between DA ministers in the government of national unity and the firm’s clients.

He claimed Resolve set up engagements between Starlink and communications minister Solly Malatsi, and that he himself had been pressed to meet agricultural lobby groups over the government’s foot-and-mouth disease response.

Malatsi is the minister who gazetted the December 2025 policy direction on equity-equivalent investment programmes – a mechanism widely read as a route to licensing Starlink in South Africa, and one that remains entangled in the Icasa licensing impasse.

Steenhuisen, who was removed from the agriculture portfolio at his own party’s request a fortnight ago, suggested the fallout from the foot-and-mouth lobbying had contributed to his ousting.

Acted lawfully

Leon was emphatic that lawful public affairs work bears no resemblance to state capture, which he characterised as the criminal subversion of public institutions for private enrichment. He said one of those levelling claims against the firm had, by his account, conceded that he had simply “put two and two together”. Resolve, Leon said, had at all times acted lawfully and transparently, did not and could not direct the decisions of ministers or officials, and had accepted without complaint any meeting request that was declined.

The statement followed an earlier corporate response from Resolve, which dismissed the accusations as baseless and said it was not a political actor but was being treated as one.

Read: Starlink wait set to drag on as Icasa flags legal hurdle

The allegations have drawn calls for investigation from other political parties. The ANC urged an independent probe, alleging an attempted capture of DA ministers and asking that it be referred to the Public Service Commission and the Public Protector. ActionSA asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to institute an urgent investigation and said it would put parliamentary questions to every DA minister and deputy minister about their dealings with the firm.