Shaun Nigel August is a South African politician and former prison warden. He was a Member of the

National Assembly of South Africa The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation syste ...

from May 2019 until February 2022 and a

Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament In the Western Cape province of South Africa, Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) is the designation given to members of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament.{{cite web , url=http://www.wcpp.gov.za/content.aspx?pageId=f2264ae2-735f-4add-b532-33 ...

from February 2022 until his expulsion from

Good In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...

in May 2023. He began his political career as a member of the

Independent Democrats The Independent Democrats (ID) was a South African political party, formed by former Pan Africanist Congress member Patricia de Lille in 2003 via floor crossing legislation. The party's platform was premised on opposition to corruption, with ...

(ID). August was appointed as the party's deputy national organiser in 2006. August joined the Democratic Alliance (DA) when the ID merged with the party and served as the DA's chief whip in the

City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town ( af, Stad Kaapstad; xh, IsiXeko saseKapa) is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026. The remo ...

council from 2014 to 2018.

Early life

August was born in Lavender Hill on the

Cape Flats The Cape Flats ( af, Die Kaapse Vlakte) is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. The Cape Flats is also the name of an administrative region of the City of Cape Town, which lie ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. He only fulfilled Grade 10 while at school. He found employment as a prison warden at the

Pollsmoor Prison Pollsmoor Prison, officially known as Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison, is located in the Cape Town suburb of Tokai in South Africa. Pollsmoor is a maximum security penal facility that continues to hold some of South Africa's most dangerous c ...

Political career

He first met

Patricia de Lille Patricia de Lille (née Lindt; born 17 February 1951) is a South African politician who is the current Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure and leader of the political party Good. She was previously Mayor of Cape Town from 2011 to 2018, ...

when she was on an official parliamentary oversight visit to the prison. When De Lille formed the

in 2003, August joined the party the next year. He became her bodyguard and travelled with her during the 2004 general election campaign. He was elected the party's deputy national organiser in 2006. August became a member of the

Cape Town City Council The City of Cape Town ( af, Stad Kaapstad; xh, IsiXeko saseKapa) is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026. The remot ...

for the ID in May 2009. The ID and Democratic Alliance announced their merger in 2010. He was part of the main discussions. He held dual party membership and in the 2011 municipal elections, he was re-elected to the city council, this time as a member of the DA, as De Lille was elected the city's mayor. In May 2014, August was promoted to the position of chief whip of the council following the resignation of Grant Pascoe. He was re-elected in the 2016 municipal elections. August was also the DA's metro chairperson from 2015 to 2017. After months of political infighting, De Lille announced her intention to resign as mayor in August 2018. August was seen as a potential mayoral candidate but ultimately chose not to run. She delivered her final speech to council on 25 October. Following her address, August resigned from council and the DA in solidarity with De Lille. She later announced her intention to form a new political party and established

in December 2018. On 20 January 2019, August was appointed as the interim national organiser of the party.

Parliamentary career

At the 2019 general election, Good won two seats in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

. August alongside De Lille filled those seats on 22 May 2019. He was appointed chief whip of the party.

Committee memberships

*Member of the Disciplinary Committee *Alternate Member of the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises *Member of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development *Member of the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs *Member of the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation *Member of the

Committee for Section 194 Enquiry The Committee for Section 194 Enquiry is an ad hoc committee of the National Assembly of South Africa that was established on 7 April 2021 to determine if there are grounds for the removal of Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane as Public Protector. Backg ...

Provincial parliament

On 7 February 2022, GOOD announced that August would be moving to the

Western Cape Provincial Parliament The Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) is the legislature of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located at 7 Wale Street in Cape Town. The Provincial Parliament, along with the other provincial legislatures of South Africa, e ...

, while Brett Herron, the party's sole representative in the provincial parliament, would be moving to the National Assembly in preparation for the party's 2024 election campaign. August became an MPP on 8 February 2022.

Inappropriate sexual behaviour allegations

In June 2022, August and the deputy mayor of the

Witzenberg Local Municipality Witzenberg Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. it had a population of 115,946. Geography The municipality covers an area of which include ...

and GOOD party member, Felicity Klazen were accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour during a by-election campaign in Witzenberg in March 2022. A total of 18 statements had produced by party volunteers and witnesses, in which August and Klazen were accused of allegedly being drunk, openly ‘openly sexing and fornicating’, having an extra-marital affair and plotting to oust

as party leader. August has not confirmed or denied the allegations, saying: “Out of respect for the internal party process, I will not address the allegations at this time.” In January 2023, it was reported that an external investigator appointed by the party found that August and Klazen should be subjected to an internal party disciplinary process over the allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour made against them during the party's by-election campaign in Witzenburg in March 2022. On 12 May 2023, Good's National Management Committee resolved to expel August and Klazen which resulted in them losing their positions. Both August and Klazen brought applications on an urgent basis before the Western Cape High Court on 19 May to set aside their expulsions from the party and to interdict the party from filling their positions in the provincial parliament and council. The matter was struck off the court's roll. August has since rejoined the Democratic Alliance.

Personal life

August is married to Shireen August.

References

External links

Shaun Nigel August – People's AssemblyMr Shaun Nigel August – Parliament of South Africa
{{DEFAULTSORT:August, Shaun Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Cape Coloureds Politicians from Cape Town Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Independent Democrats (South Africa) politicians Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians Good (political party) politicians Members of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament