Celebrities take a shot at politics

What do a DJ, a footballer, an actor, a podcaster, a controversial TV show presenter and a poet have in common?

Politics, it seems.

They are among a number of celebrities who have thrown their hats into the ring for the local government elections in November.

Retired Orlando Pirates footballer Thulasizwe Mbuyane is the latest big name to enter the race. He is running for councillor in ward 67 in Tshwane, representing the Economic Liberators Forum South Africa.

Others include:

• The former cash-in-transit offender turned podcaster Themba “SkeemGP” Nzimande, who is Afrika Mayibuye Movement’s mayoral candidate for Ekurhuleni;
• The former host of Moja Love’s popular drug-busting reality show Sizok’thola, Xolani Khumalo, who is ActionSA’s mayoral candidate for Ekurhuleni;
• Jimmy Magubane, the well-known actor from the hit SABC1 soapie Uzalo, who is contesting ward 7 in his hometown of Ntshongweni, Durban, for the African Transformation Movement party;
• South African poet, musician, beadwork artist and social activist Ntsiki Mazwai, who is the Land Party’s mayoral candidate for Joburg; and
• Hip-hop DJ Ready D, who is the Cape Town mayoral candidate for the People’s Movement for Change party.

But multi-award-winning singer Ringo Madlingozi — who served as an MP for the EFF from 2019 to 2023 — has offered a warning. He says that while entering parliament was an eye-opening experience, he would never get involved in politics again.

“I was given a front-row seat in the political sphere, and I’m glad I was there. To be part of the policy creation was something different. But there were those who were angry that I got into politics. I thought we’d be more mature and understand that everybody is there to make people’s lives change.”

He said some people had refused to play his music because he was affiliated with the EFF.

“Then there is the realisation that not everything can happen just like that, because there are forces beyond us that are running the show.

“I would personally think that politicians know what should be happening for the people for things to change. Budgets should be allocated, yet people will debate whether to help someone dying or not. That’s not where I want to be.”

DJ Ready D, whose real name is Deon Daniels, told the Sunday Times he had in the past considered what it would be like to be in government, “but I didn’t know how; I didn’t know when”.

In June last year, People’s Movement for Change leader Marius Fransman invited him to attend a screening of the political documentary Legacy of Hope: Freedom Through Solidarity — The Russia, Cuba, South African Chapter.

Two weeks later, Fransman called him.

“He asked me if I’d ever considered serving my community in a greater capacity,” he said. “What really resonated with me was looking at where I am in my life and my age. I thought that maybe this is something I needed to consider.

“I have first-hand experience with forced removals. Our family was among the last relocated out of District Six to Mitchells Plain, where we had to find our way around a new and foreign environment and a new way of life, being part of a new community and navigating the pitfalls of gang violence.

“In my lifetime, I have made it through major political events — the first state of emergency and the riots of 1976. I was a little child who didn’t understand that. And of course, from 1985 to 1988, we experienced the next wave of extreme violence and the lockdowns and state of emergency. The trauma of witnessing so many things, paying close attention to how it impacts society.”

Ready D spent decades using music and street culture to challenge the status quo as a member of hip-hop group Prophets of the City.

“Political music and activism have never gone away. In Cape Town, there’s still music that touches on social commentary in the hip-hop culture, but I don’t think it’s making the necessary impact,” he said. “I do feel, however, that there’s a resurgence and awakening that is happening in our country, and young people are starting to raise their voices and opinions.”

Ready D, who has been at KFM since July last year, has paused his gig at the radio station to focus on his campaign. “We had a really mature and great meeting with our station manager. We are in full understanding of why I should not be on air. We don’t want to be in a position where people can accuse us of having a platform to push our agenda.”

Mazwai, an outspoken poet and activist, told the Sunday Times that the worsening decay in Joburg had prompted her to enter the race for mayor.

“Like so many Joburg residents, I have watched with deep pain as those entrusted with our city have allowed it to fall into neglect and lawlessness,” she said. “Joburg was once a beacon of promise; today too much of it reflects the dysfunction we see across our continent.”

Remaining an armchair critic was no longer enough. “I have spent years speaking truth to power from outside the system. Now I want to take that voice into the chambers where decisions are made — and turn criticism into action, accountability and tangible change.”

Mazwai said her voice has been at the centre of political debates and national discourse for decades.

“I have consistently spoken about power, inequality, justice, governance and the lived realities of ordinary South Africans. My political engagement did not begin with this election, and I am not entering politics simply because there is a ballot with my name on it.

“I am entering it to bring [my] voice ... into the political space where decisions are actually made.”