ANC brings Frank Chikane into Johannesburg mayoral campaign race
Johannesburg’s ruling-party race has taken a sharper turn, with the ANC confirming on Friday that veteran Reverend Frank Chikane is now part of its campaign
Johannesburg’s ruling-party race has taken a sharper turn, with the ANC confirming on Friday that veteran Reverend Frank Chikane is now part of its campaign machinery ahead of November’s local polls. The move effectively quashes speculation that Chikane had stepped away from the mayoral candidacy process.
Images released by the ANC showed Chikane at a meeting with party office bearers, including Johannesburg chairperson Loyiso Masuku, who is also one of the three contenders for the ANC’s mayoral pick in the city. ANC Johannesburg secretary Sasabona Manganye said the gathering was meant to formally welcome Chikane into the region’s election campaign effort.
Three contenders, one nomination
Chikane, Masuku and current Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero were introduced last week as the three people vying to become the ANC’s official mayoral candidate for Johannesburg. Party president Cyril Ramaphosa addressed that event, which was originally expected to unveil single candidates.
Instead, the party changed course at the last minute. What had been set up as a clean announcement turned into a narrower exercise: the ANC identified the people who had been interviewed for the position, then told them to start campaigning.
That instruction matters. Johannesburg is the ANC’s most high-profile urban battleground, and the party is under pressure to show discipline, momentum and internal unity as it heads toward the November vote. Bringing Chikane into the campaign fold suggests the contest is still open, even if the party is already pushing its hopefuls into election mode.
Morero under pressure as race unfolds
The campaign push lands while Morero faces public criticism over an outburst during an imbizo in Tshepisong. In a video that spread widely on social media, he repeatedly told a resident not to call him a criminal after being accused in public.
Morero later apologised, saying emotions had run high. He said he took full responsibility and had also spoken to the resident involved, with the meeting accepting his apology.
The episode has kept attention on Morero at a sensitive time. For the ANC, that makes the mayoral selection process more than an internal formality. It now carries the weight of public perception, campaign discipline and the party’s credibility in South Africa’s biggest city.
Manganye said the meeting with Chikane was about bringing him formally into the region’s election machinery. The photos, and the timing, leave little doubt about the message: the ANC wants all three contenders on the road, campaigning hard, while the nomination fight continues.
