Kenny Kunene tells Joburg, ‘God gives light during the day; I will at night’

On Saturday, 19 September, Johannesburg Transport MMC and Patriotic Alliance (PA) deputy president Kenny Kunene launched his campaign to lead the City, prioritising issues including hijacked buildings, informal settlements and debt relief for residents behind on their municipal payments. 

Kunene claimed to have a strong track record in government and suggested he would tackle issues that current City leaders (the PA is part of the governing coalition) and other parties had neglected. 

“I have done more roads, I have fixed more potholes than any other MMC that has ever operated since democracy. I have stabilised my department [and have] a work ethic that is results-driven [which] has been seen at [the Johannesburg Roads Agency] and the transport department in general,” he told supporters in Aeroton.

Daily Maverick reported in June that the Johannesburg Roads Agency’s (JRA’s) fleet was grounded due to financial constraints, while News24 reported in August that the City’s asphalt plant was offline due to a supplier issue. 

Despite these issues, Kunene maintained he was the right candidate to lead Joburg. 

“The street lights can be resolved. When I become mayor, I have committed to a safe City of Johannesburg. Every electric pole, every light must work and give people light. I am committed that as God gives you light during the day, I will give you light at night,” he told supporters on Saturday.

PA growth

In Johannesburg, the PA emerged as kingmakers during the no-confidence vote against then mayor Mpho Phalatse, from the DA, in 2023. Her removal hinged less on performance than on political bargaining, with the DA’s refusal to accept Kenny Kunene on the mayoral committee sealing her fate. 

The PA won eight of Joburg’s 270 council seats in the 2021 elections, but now it holds 11 seats after several by-election victories, suggesting that the party continues to grow in Joburg and could be influential in coalition negotiations after the elections. 

“The PA will continue to grow because it’s the only party that is in touch with South Africans across racial lines,” party supporter Brendan Pietersen (70) told Daily Maverick on Saturday.

Alongside him, Andy Beukes (56) said, “This is why we both decided to vote for the PA in the upcoming elections.”

Hijacked buildings, water and electricity

“Patriots, we are going to reclaim hijacked buildings. We have already started as the Patriotic Alliance,” said Kunene on Saturday.

“You have seen last week, we were showing videos where we have taken out an Angolan hijacker out of a house and put a South African family,” Kunene told the crowd. 

Daily Maverick was unable to verify the claim.

On the City’s water and electricity problems, Kunene said usage continued to rise while the revenue the City collected was shrinking. He blamed the situation on hijacked buildings, informal settlements and illegal connections. 

As a result, the municipality remained perpetually indebted, forever owing Eskom and Rand Water, and was trapped in a cycle of escalating demand and dwindling revenue, he said. 

“You’ve got informal settlements that are not formalised where water is connected illegally, same as hijacked buildings where electricity is connected illegally,” Kunene said.

“Eskom does not see illegal connections. It [just] sees the consuming of electricity, that’s how they’re billing us,” said Kunene.

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He said that if he were elected, he would implement a City motion to write off the debt of residents whose properties were valued at under R1-million. 

“When I become mayor, I will implement municipal debt relief and write off the debt in 100 days. The people have demonstrated over the years that they cannot pay this debt. Our debtors’ book needs to be cleaned up so that people can start afresh and they can budget and plan for their future,” said Kunene.

McKenzie backs ‘ruffian’

PA leader and Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie told the crowd that the party would focus on immigration. He claimed those who were opposed to the expulsion of illegal migrants were motivated by privilege.

“The people that want illegal immigrants to stay, they have medical aid, they don’t have housing problems. They don’t compete with illegal foreigners for housing. They don’t compete with illegal foreigners to get the kids into school because their kids go to private schools and private hospitals,” he said.

McKenzie said the reason the government had adopted a tough stance on illegal migration was because of his presence in government.

“They are going to leave,” he said.

“We are inside. We’ve moved the needle. I’m not sitting there and smiling the whole time in the Cabinet. I’m talking when it comes to illegal foreigners. I’m saying they must go, and under the leadership of Kunene they will go, trust me.”

He said Joburg needed a “ruffian” like Kunene. Kunene, like his party leader, has served time in prison. McKenzie said Kunene was the best candidate for the job, while tearing into DA candidate Helen Zille and labelling the latter the worst mayoral candidate for Johannesburg.

Kunene briefly stepped away from his MMC role in 2025 after he was found at the home of murder-accused and alleged “Big Five” cartel member Katiso “KT” Molefe during a police raid. He was reinstated after being cleared by an internal PA inquiry. DM