By Zukile Majova
Political Editor
Former Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda, charged with fraud, has been suspended on full pay.
Gwamanda, who was mayor from May 2023 until August 2024, lost his position on the mayoral committee and has been placed on special leave.
But new mayor Dada Morero did not fire Gwamanda from the executive committee.
Now, the decision to place him on special leave means Gwamanda gets to keep his MMC salary – even though an acting MMC will be appointed to do his job.
Gwamanda, a councillor from the Al Jama-ah party, is out on bail after being charged with defrauding Soweto residents through a funeral insurance scam he allegedly ran in 2011.
The ANC is in a coalition with Al Jama-ah, which made it possible for Gwamanda to be the mayor of Johannesburg despite his party winning less than 2% of the vote.
After months of poor service delivery in many parts of Johannesburg, ActionSA called for his removal and the dissolution of the mayoral committee.
The ANC removed Gwamanda and rearranged the deck chairs but ended up with the same people on the mayoral committee, with former finance MMC Morero becoming the executive mayor.
On Tuesday, Morero met Gwamanda, the MMC for Community Development, and decided to place him on special leave.
“The severity of these allegations demand a proactive response to protect the integrity of the office of the executive mayor,” said Morero.
Morero’s determination to get rid of Gwamanda contrasts sharply with the view of ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, who said the ANC would leave Al Jama-ah to decide on Gwamanda.
Pictured above: Kabelo Gwamanda
Source: X@KabeloGwamanda
