Herman Mashaba in bid to reclaim Joburg mayor’s office

ActionSA leaderHerman Mashabahas entered the race to become Johannesburg’s next mayor. The party has confirmed that he is among five shortlisted candidates to lead its 2026 campaign in the city. In a statement released on Sunday, party national chairpersonMichael Beaumontsaid the party’s central candidate selection committee would meet on Monday to finalise its candidate and would announce the name on 21 February.

Mashaba, a former mayor of the city, is on the shortlist, alongside Beaumont, national spokesperson and parliamentary chief whip Lerato Ngobeni, MP Dereleen James and Gauteng provincial chairperson Funzi Ngobeni. “These candidates have been engaged by the party and have obliged the request to make themselves available for consideration following an extensive period of consultation, engagement and vetting,” Beaumont said. “The profiles of the candidates are included below.The candidates have submitted presentations outlining turnaround plans for Johannesburg, have undergone security vetting and will participate in this interview phase tomorrow evening, after which final deliberations will lead to a decision.” Funzi Ngobeni has served in several mayoral committee portfolios in Johannesburg, among them finance and development planning.

During his tenure as member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for finance, the city achieved an unqualified audit outcome and reported significant capital spending on infrastructure. Lerato Ngobeni is a former Johannesburg councillor and chaired the council’s oversight committee on environment, infrastructure and services. James serves on parliamentary portfolio committees on police, correctional services and social development.

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Beaumont was Mashaba’s chief of staff during his mayoralty. Mashaba’s inclusion ends weeks of speculation about whether he would either return to the mayoral fray or position another senior leader as ActionSA’s face in Johannesburg. He served as Johannesburg’s mayor from 2016 to 2019 under theDemocratic Alliance(DA), leading a coalition government before resigning amid tension in the party.

He founded ActionSA in 2020, positioning it as a reformist alternative focused on clean governance, service delivery and law enforcement. The City of Johannesburg has experienced political instability in recent years, with frequent changes in leadership driven by shifting coalition arrangements in the council.

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