ActionSA and the DA have called for the resignation of former Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda following his arrest on Friday over an alleged funeral policy scam. Gwamanda is currently a Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Community Development in Johannesburg. He is accused of luring unsuspecting Soweto residents into the scheme, where they paid monthly payments for funeral insurance from 2011 through his company, Ithemba Lama Afrika.

ANC IS A FLOP

The DA has blamed the ANC for failing to do background checks on their preferred leaders. "Former Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda's arrest exposes ANC's failure to provide ethical leadership that we warned about," the DA said. ActionSA's Herman Mashaba also called for Gwamanda's resignation. "He must not only resign as an MMC, but he must also resign as a councillor with immediate effect. ActionSA is going to act on this," Mashaba said.He added that they tried to get the DA to help them 'avoid' Gwamanda from being elected as mayor. "They sacrificed their mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse in defence of Gwamanda," he said.

 BEHIND HIM

Al Jama-ah has backed Gwamanda and says he was being persecuted by the DA. Al Jama-ah party leader Ganief Hendricks said: "The malice was not only aimed at reputational damage but this became the onus of an attempt to remove him from office a day after his appointment," Hendricks said. Hendricks said the case and charges are not new to their ears as they date back to 2023. "However, on Friday, Gwamanda was requested to present himself to the Protea North Police Station and he has fully complied with this, where he was subsequently arrested," he added. Hendricks said they are, however, surprised by the timing of the law enforcement at the time of Gwamanda's appointment to the government of national unity Clearing House Committee and on the eve of the highly contested street remaining from Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive.