Two posters, two ‘mayors’: Factionalism threatening to split Al Jama-ah

Questions have been raised about leadership battles inside Al Jama-ah in the City of Johannesburg after two posters of different mayoral candidates circulated on social media.

One poster seemingly indicates that Thapelo Amad is the party’s mayoral candidate for Joburg, while another shows Kabelo Gwamanda as the party’s mayoral candidate.

The Citizen reached out to party leader Ganief Hendricks on the matter. He said the party had not chosen its mayoral candidate.

However, Hendricks said the posters are part of the party’s campaign strategy.

“They have the freedom to project their mayoral experience to win the wards they are contesting as ward councillors. For the record, they remain our top two candidates, and we are not concerned about their campaign messaging to win the wards,” said Hendricks.

According to Hendricks, his party will not announce mayoral candidates like other political parties.

What happened to Shireen Ebrahim?

However, late last year the party announced businesswoman Shireen Ebrahim as its mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg.

According to a media release on the party’s website, Ebrahim was one of five women that the party had nominated for “powerful” posts.

“Ebrahim’s appointment has received resounding support from two former mayors and the current Presidential Champion for Johannesburg, Deputy Minister of Social Development and president of Al Jama-ah, Hon Ganief Hendricks, MP,” said the party.

But party insiders told The Citizen that Ebrahim has now pulled out as the party’s duly announced mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg.

Gwamanda raises his hand

Meanwhile, Gwamanda told The Citizen that he was aware of the poster depicting him as the party’s mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg.

“Yes, that is a true reflection. However, I am one of the runners-up who are considered to lead the upcoming local government elections,” he said.

Gwamanda served as Johannesburg mayor for more than a year. He told The Citizen he is still interested in leading the metro as its number one resident.

“My focus is not on political noise but on offering Johannesburg a practical vision for renewal. Residents are tired of endless political battles while basic services continue to decline.

“My campaign is about restoring functional government, rebuilding public trust, creating economic opportunity, and ensuring every community receives the services it deserves.

“I encourage residents to judge me by the ideas I present, the solutions I propose, and my commitment to serving all the people of Johannesburg the same way that my political party is doing during this process. Ultimately, this election in my view must be about the future of the city, not personalities,” he said.

Amad says it’s AI

Meanwhile, Amad told The Citizen that he has not generated a poster that depicts him as a mayoral candidate for his party. He said the poster is AI-generated and that he is focused on building his party and “not positions”.

Tensions in the party

But a source in the party told The Citizen that there is tension between Amad and Gwamanda over several issues.

“There has been tension between the two former mayors for a number of months, and they are fighting for positions, but at the same time they are destroying the party.

“They have both been given a chance to become mayors, but they failed to perform.

“Our party leader has allowed these two to get away with a lot of things, including the gun allegations that Thapelo faces,” said the source.