Afrika Mayibuye Movement leader Floyd Shivambu named entrepreneur and media personality Themba Lukhele Nzimande, known as Skeem GP, as the party’s mayoral candidate for the City of Ekurhuleni at a community event in Kliptown, Soweto on Saturday 5 September 2026. Image: Supplied
The Afrika Mayibuye Movement named entrepreneur and media personality Themba Lukhele Nzimande, known as Skeem GP, as its mayoral candidate for the City of Ekurhuleni. The Skeem GP Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate announcement came on Saturday 5 September 2026 during a community meeting in Kliptown, Soweto. Furthermore, Afrika Mayibuye leader Floyd Shivambu made the announcement as the movement marked a year since its formation. As a result, Ekurhuleni now has one of the most talked-about mayoral lineups of the 2026 elections.
Shivambu used the Kliptown event to announce several Gauteng mayoral candidates. Retired Major General Prince Nkitsing Mokotedi will carry the flag in the City of Tshwane. Bishop Vincent Jones will contest Emfuleni Local Municipality. Apostle Buti Michael Nthako will stand in Sedibeng District Municipality. Johannes Moatlhodi will contest Midvaal Local Municipality. Furthermore, Shivambu did not announce a candidate for the City of Johannesburg. He said only that the Johannesburg executive mayor would come from Afrika Mayibuye. As a result, the identity of Afrika Mayibuye’s Johannesburg candidate remains the biggest open question in Gauteng heading into November.
Skeem GP is a South African entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker and philanthropist. He has spoken publicly about his time in prison and his transformation afterwards. Afrika Mayibuye presents him as a social change advocate whose personal story makes him the right person to lead Ekurhuleni. Furthermore, his public profile and social media following give the party a candidate with real name recognition in a metro where Afrika Mayibuye is still building its brand. As a result, his candidacy will attract voters who find his story compelling and critics who will question his suitability given his criminal record.
The Ekurhuleni mayoral race is shaping up as one of the most competitive in the country. The DA selected Khathutshelo Rasilingwane. ActionSA named media personality and crime activist Xolani Khumalo. The EFF put forward former council speaker Nthabiseng Tshivhenga. The MK Party selected MP Thulani Shongwe. The ANC is still deciding between incumbent mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, regional secretary Jongizizwe Dlabathi, former Gauteng MEC Ntombi Mekgwe and Pelisa Nkunjani. Furthermore, the wide field of candidates makes the Ekurhuleni race genuinely unpredictable. As a result, the 4 November 2026 vote in Ekurhuleni will be one of the most watched contests in South Africa.
Floyd Shivambu formed Afrika Mayibuye after leaving the EFF in August 2025. The party registered under the Electoral Commission Act of 1996 and committed to contesting all wards in the 2026 elections. In just over a year the party built a national footprint and launched community projects. Mayibuye Medics provides monthly healthcare to elderly residents. The party drilled boreholes in several communities across Gauteng. Furthermore, Shivambu said an Afrika Mayibuye-led municipality would deliver solutions immediately rather than waiting for long-term plans. As a result, the movement positions itself as an action-driven alternative to the established parties that have run Gauteng’s metros for decades.
The 4 November 2026 local government elections are shaping up as the most competitive in South African history. More than a dozen parties are contesting seats in Ekurhuleni alone. The ANC faces the prospect of losing its outright majority in several Gauteng metros it has held since 1994. Furthermore, new entrants including Afrika Mayibuye, the Land Party and the Patriotic Alliance are putting forward candidates with public profiles that cut through traditional party machinery. As a result, the 4 November outcome in Ekurhuleni is genuinely hard to predict in a way that Gauteng metro politics has rarely been before.
Also read: Papa Penny Leaves MK Party to Join Floyd Shivambu’s Afrika Mayibuye Movement Ahead of 2026 Local Elections.