Biography
Kabelo Gwamanda is a South African-based politician and the ninth executive mayor of the metropolitan municipality since 2016. He is known to be a member of the Al Jama-ah party a political party in South Africa formed in 2007 by its present leader Ganief Hendricks and headquartered in Howard Centre, Pinelands, Cape Town.
Gwamanda was born on the 4th day of December 1982 and he is currently 41 years old at the time of writing this article and will be 42 in the coming year.
Gwamanda became a trending topic among netizens in South Africa especially in Johannesburg after he was elected as the new mayor of the city of Johannesburg on the 5th of May 2023. Kabelo Gwamanda was sworn in after Thapelo Amad resigned the previous week.
Early Life
Kabelo Gwamanda was born and raised in Soweto a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city’s mining belt in the south. He grew up in a politically active family and has been a political enthusiast right from his teenage age, especially through the influence of his mother who was an avid political activist. He also had his education in the city of Johannesburg and still lives in the city of Johannesburg today.
Education
Kabelo Gwamanda had his primary and secondary education in South Africa and after his graduation from secondary school education, he got admission into the university where he went on to study law. His university education was highly influenced by his mother who encourage him to take a professional career in the legal institution. Gwamanda studied at Witwatersrand University a university located in the city of Johannesburg where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in law.
Career
After he was done with his education he was appointed a court clerk at a famous South African constitutional court under a popular SA justice of law who was known by his name (Justice Ismail Mohamed).
Following his clerk work, he also worked as a legal researcher for the South African law reform commission where he was instrumental in the development of numerous significant pieces of legislation including the promotion of equality and the prevention of unfair discrimination Act.
Kabelo Gwamanda has also worked as a human rights attorney with the legal resource center in South Africa a non-profit organization that provides legal aid to underprivileged and disadvantaged people in South Africa. While at the center he has been directly and indirectly involved in various landmark cases, including some illegal eviction of tenants in their legal home without order from any legal institution or court.
Political Career
After fellow Al Jama-ah councilor Thapelo Amad resigned as mayor of Johannesburg due to pressure from coalition partners, the largest party in the council, the African National Congress, endorsed Gwamanda for the position of mayor on 5 May 2023 in order to keep its alliance with the Economic Freedom Fighters, another party in the council. He was elected during a council vote held via secret ballot on that same day, receiving 139 votes out of the 266 votes. Gwamanda announced his mayoral committee shortly after his election.
The Democratic Alliance caucus in council has called Gwamanda a “scammer” over allegations that he scammed residents into investing in a funeral/investment scheme through his company iThemba Lama Afrika.
Gwamanda delivered his maiden State of the City Address on 6 June 2023. The following day, Gwamanda fell ill during the debate on the State of the City Address and was hospitalized.
Net worth
Kabelo Gwamanda’s net Worth is estimated to be around $4 to $6 million dollars which he made through his career as a seasoned lawyer. He has never made much with his political position.
Personal Life
Even with all his Achievements and wealth, kabelo gwamanda still lives a private and low-key life. He doesn’t share anything about his personal Life and he is a simple gentle man who doesn’t like living a lavish lifestyle to impress anybody.
Marriage
Kabelo gwamanda is a happily married man with children Although there was not much information about who Kabelo’s wife is and where she is from. And there’s also no information concerning his kids.
Activism
In addition to practicing law, Gwamanda is a well-known human rights advocate. He has taken part in a number of activities and movements to advance social justice and human rights in South Africa. The Treatment Action Campaign, a nonprofit organization that promotes access to HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention in South Africa, was founded by Gwamanda.
In addition, Gwamanda has worked as an advocate for causes like gender equality, access to higher education, and land reform. He has been an outspoken supporter of women’s and children’s rights in South Africa and has taken part in initiatives to abolish gender-based violence.
Awards and Recognition
Numerous honors and medals have been bestowed on Kabelo Gwamanda for his work as a human rights defender and attorney. For his efforts as a human rights attorney, he received the Golden Key International Honour Society Award in 2009. He was recognized as one of the 200 Young South Africans in 2018 by the Daily Mail & Guardian.
Social handle
Kabelo only uses three social media platforms. Below is the link to the official pages of these social media platforms.
Note: any links other than these links I am going to be sharing with you here should be avoided because there are many fake pages that claim to be Kota but they’re not.
LinkedIn: @kabelogwamanda or @kabelogwamanda
Facebook: @kabelogwamanda
Twitter: @kabelogwamanda
Controversy
According to news24.com Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda ran a scam where his business, iThemba Lama Afrika, conned unsuspecting Soweto residents in a scheme where they would make monthly payments for funeral insurance.
This is according to a Sunday Times report that cited an investigation by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).
The FSCA revealed that Gwamanda – who is an Al Jama-ah councilor – operated the illegal business in 2012 and then disappeared when his clients came looking for their money.
Approached for a comment on Sunday morning, Gwamanda’s office told News24: “We’re not aware of any FSCA investigation or finding.”
Gwamanda told the Sunday Times: “I did have a social business at some point in my community where I come from. The business did fail. The customers and clients we were working with were engaged because they are my neighbors.
“I had taken ownership, I had presented myself to my clients and told them, ‘This is where the business is, we have failed, so what do we do’ and what were their expectations from me? And then it was closed in that manner.”
The allegations were initially made by the DA’s former mayor, Dr. Mpho Phalatse, who alleged that Gwamanda may have been the hand behind the insurance scam.
At the time, the ANC claimed the allegations were baseless and said the party had vetted Gwamanda.
“As the ANC, we do not want to entertain gossip; those are just gossip and rumor-mongering, so until somebody comes out and says, ‘I was scammed’, we cannot entertain such gossip,” News24 quoted ANC regional secretary Sasabona Manganye as saying at the time.
“We vetted the mayor, and he met the minimum basic requirements. The vetting is the basic vetting of whether he has any criminal record if there is any pending criminal case against him, and if he is insolvent.
“These things qualified him on whether he could be a mayor or not… That is why we are not worried.”
The Sunday Times reported that Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo confirmed a case against Gwamanda had been opened in May.
News24 called Masondo, but he did not answer his phone.
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