By Celani Sikhakhane
- The ANC’s Moses Mabhida Region in Pietermaritzburg nominated Dlamini after the party opened its mayoral candidate process to the public this week.
- Bishop Vusi Dube was also nominated for the uMsunduzi mayoral post after he failed to win a seat in the KZN Legislature in the 2024 elections.
Bathabile Dlamini wants to run one of KwaZulu-Natal’s biggest municipalities. The ANC’s Moses Mabhida Region in Pietermaritzburg has put her name forward as a mayoral candidate for uMsunduzi Local Municipality.
Dlamini was once one of the most powerful women in the ANC. She served as Minister of Social Development under former president Jacob Zuma and led the ANC Women’s League. But her time in government ended under a cloud.
She left parliament in 2018, the same year President Cyril Ramaphosa dropped her from Cabinet. The departure came as she faced serious questions over the Sassa debacle, in which millions of social grant recipients were left in uncertainty over their payments. The travel gate scandal also attached to her name during that period.
Dlamini could not be reached for comment before publication.
Bishop Vusi Dube was also nominated for the mayoral post. He confirmed to Scrolla.Africa that his name had been put forward. Dube did not secure a seat in the KZN Legislature after the ANC’s losses in the 2024 general elections.
uMsunduzi has spent years in the headlines for corruption and mismanagement. The municipality’s troubles became widely known during the time of Zanele Hlatshwayo, granddaughter of Inkosi Albert Luthuli, the former ANC President General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
The ANC has opened its mayoral nomination process to the public across the country. The party said civic organisations, faith formations, business chambers, traditional leaders and ordinary citizens may submit names for consideration. The National Executive Committee has given the party’s national officials the authority to appoint mayoral candidates for metros and other strategic municipalities ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
Pictured above: Former ANCWL President Bathabile Dlamini nominated for uMsunduzi Local Municipality mayoral post.
Image source: ANC
