Cape Town - Former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has left the political arena after he resigned as a GOOD councillor for Drakenstein Municipality.
De Villiers, whose wife recently passed away, tendered his resignation to focus on other endeavours.
His wife, 62-year-old Theresa de Villiers, drowned in a swimming pool in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape earlier this year.
Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg, spokesperson for the police, at the time said the body of De Villiers’s wife was found in a swimming pool in Fairview.
“He wants to spend more time with his family since the passing of his wife earlier this year,” GOOD said.
“The GOOD leadership has received and accepted the resignation of Peter de Villiers as a GOOD councillor in the Drakenstein Municipality.”
De Villiers, who will remain a member of GOOD, led the party’s campaign in the municipality as its mayoral candidate in the 2021 Local Government Elections in November. In this council, GOOD obtained four seats.
“Coach remains steadfastly committed to the pursuit of social justice and we hope to see his return back to public office,” the statement read.
“He will continue to work with us to champion the projects he launched to improve access to sports and recreation facilities in Paarl.”
De Villiers’s daughter, Odille Monk, died at age 28 in 2019. She had lymphoma cancer in her breast. It was reported De Villiers attended each of his daughter's chemotherapy sessions.