By Celani Sikhakhane
- Fikile Mbalula removed Zandile Gumede from the new eThekwini leadership group last week because Zandile Gumede faces ongoing corruption charges.
- Thabani Nyawose and Thanduxolo Sabela will lead the region instead while Zandile Gumede fights her waste tender fraud court case.
African National Congress secretary general Fikile Mbalula has dumped Zandile Gumede from a new leadership group.
Mbalula released a list last week. He replaced the old regional group in eThekwini and left the former mayor out.
Thabani Nyawose and Thanduxolo Sabela now lead the new group. Nyawose is the speaker for the eThekwini municipality. Sabela is a former youth leader in the province.
The ruling party first pushed Zandile Gumede out of her leadership roles in 2019. At the time she was both the mayor and the chairperson of the region.
She faces charges in a R320-million waste tender fraud case.
But the party brought Zandile Gumede back early in 2024 to help win votes before the general elections.
Former party secretary in the province Bheki Mtolo told journalists that leaders had no choice. He said they needed Zandile Gumede because voters liked her.
People in the region call her Mama. She was the most popular leader in the area.
Her enemies inside the party used this name against her. They told voters that the city does not belong to any mother.
A few months after bringing her back the party removed her name from the list of people going to the provincial government. She was number six on the list before leaders removed her.
Now Fikile Mbalula has removed her from the regional leadership group completely.
Pictured above: Zandile Gumede has been dropped from the new eThekwini regional team.
Image source: Zandile Gumede/Facebook
