The ANC’s Geoff Makhubo is the new mayor of Johannesburg. Makhubo won the vote on Wednesday by a comfortable margin. The ANC’s nominee for the position – which was formerly held by Herman Mashaba of the DA – received 137 of the votes cast. His closest challenger was the DA’s Funzela Ngobeni, with 101 votes. The EFF’s Musa Novela received 30 votes. This comes after the meeting was delayed for a week by council speaker, Vasco DA Gama, over procedure to be followed in electing a new mayor.
Makhubu replaces Herman Mashaba, who’s last say was on November 27. Mashaba resigned from his job last manth, protesting the election of Helen Zille as DA chairperson of the federal council. Makhubu’s return signals ANC reclaim of the country’s economic hub after it was toppled by a DA led coalition, supported by the EFF. But the coalition government has collapsed after the EFF fell out of favour with the DA.
Drawn out negotiations between the IFP and the ANC led to the party ditching the DA and its relationship in five other municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal. The Johannesburg result also means the DA is at risk of losing its mayorship of the city of Tshwane.
Its mayor, Stevens Makgalapa, is under siege from both opposition parties and from within his party following a leaked alleged “s-e-x recording”. Both the EFF and ANC has filed motions to have him removed while his party, the DA, is probing him over the same recording.
In other news – Pitch Black Afro remains behind bars
16 Days of Activism against women and children abuse is well under way and rapper Pitch Black Afro remains behind bars. Pitch Black Afro, whose real name is Thulani Ngcobo, has been in jail since January after Daily Sun broke the story that he allegedly killed his wife Tricia Modisane on the 31st of December last year at a BnB in Bellevue near Yeoville.
He is facing charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice after trying to conceal evidence that contributed to his arrest. Pitch Black Afro also denied claims by the state that he stuffed a pad onto Modisane’s private parts. Read more
Source: sowetanlive
