OUR CITY NEWS: Despite a turbulent past, Al Jama-ah eyes a third shot at Joburg mayoralty

Ashley Mama believes Johannesburg can become one of the world’s leading cities within five years, provided it has the political leadership to unlock its potential. But before he can begin transforming the city, he must convince voters that Al Jama-ah, a small party that has already held the mayoralty twice through coalition agreements, has something different to offer.

The party’s two previous mayors were elevated to the position with the backing of larger coalition partners, including the ANC and the EFF, rather than through any significant electoral mandate of their own. Neither completed a full term – Thapelo Amad resigned after fewer than three months in 2023, following controversy over a proposed multibillion-rand investment deal. His successor, Kabelo Gwamanda, faced allegations concerning his business dealings and mounting criticism over poor service delivery before stepping down in August 2024.

Mama nevertheless credits party leader Ganief Hendricks with bringing stability to Johannesburg’s notoriously turbulent coalition politics, arguing that Al Jama-ah helped end the constant changes in political leadership. “We did that by providing leadership and vision to the coalitions that, look, the city must come first. We are still benefiting from the stabilisation of when Al Jama-ah entered,” he said.

Hendricks has now turned to Mama, a businessman and former ANC Youth League leader, to represent the party in the municipal elections, praising his experience in community development and economic empowerment.

Born and raised in Soweto, Mama says his father was killed by apartheid death squad commander Eugene de Kock, while the man who subsequently raised him was involved in the liberation struggle and imprisoned on Robben Island.

He followed his family into politics, participating in youth and community structures before pursuing business interests, including construction and enterprise development. He previously served as executive chairperson of the Eagles Eye Business Chamber, although he said he has largely stepped away from his businesses to concentrate on the campaign.

“I’m not a career politician, hence why I can speak the way I want to freely. I’m not owned by anyone. I just adhere to the political party that I lead currently,” he said.

His central argument is that Johannesburg needs to move beyond restoring basic municipal services and begin using its considerable resources to create wealth and opportunities for residents.

He wants to attract investment, reduce bureaucracy and restructure municipal procurement so that smaller businesses can compete for work within their own communities. His proposals include establishing special economic zones across Johannesburg’s seven regions and allowing local contractors to undertake maintenance instead of concentrating opportunities among larger companies.

Mama also wants to accelerate the release of title deeds to informal settlement residents, arguing that people should have the security to improve their own homes even when the municipality cannot immediately provide formal housing.

His first 100 days would begin with an assessment of the City’s service delivery failures, followed by a public dashboard identifying coalition agreements and the politicians responsible for different portfolios. He also wants an app allowing residents to track municipal complaints, see which officials have been assigned to resolve them and escalate unresolved matters.

“This is your money. It’s the citizens’ money. It’s not their money,” he said of the City’s budget, arguing that residents had become too accustomed to poor governance instead of demanding greater accountability from their political leaders.

‘Captured by foreign nationals’

Yet his language becomes considerably more forceful when discussing Johannesburg’s inner city, which he believes has been captured by criminal networks, migrants and politically connected individuals who benefit from the deterioration of buildings and municipal services.

“The inner city has been captured by foreign nationals,” he claimed, alleging that powerful political figures were protecting the criminals operating in hijacked buildings.

He points to the December 2025 murder of entertainer and security businessman Warrick “DJ Warras” Stock, who was shot outside a Johannesburg building, as evidence of the dangers of confronting these networks. Although the killing has been linked to a dispute involving alleged illegal rent collection, Mama’s broader accusations of political protection have not been established in the case.

Despite his sweeping accusations about migrants and crime, he distances himself from anti-migrant movements such as March and March, arguing that their activities disproportionately target poor and vulnerable Black Africans while leaving other migrant communities untouched.

“It’s another variation or perpetuation of black-on-black violence and self-hate, you know. So organisations like that hate themselves, and they’re not building social cohesion,” he said.

The distinction is significant, particularly because Hendricks has advocated a conditional regularisation programme for undocumented migrants, allowing qualifying residents to obtain legal status rather than simply deporting them.

Mama insists that immigration laws must be enforced fairly, without the racial discrimination he believes characterises movements such as March and March, although his own language about the inner city repeatedly associates migration with criminality.

His position on potential coalition partners is less accommodating, ruling out working with the DA, citing its stance on Israel and Palestine and what he considers its failure to address apartheid’s spatial legacy.

For Mama, much of Johannesburg’s decline comes down to a lack of political will, and he believes that greater accountability, economic investment and better use of municipal resources could fundamentally change the city’s trajectory. DM

This interview is part of an ongoing series by Our City News featuring key mayoral candidates contesting the City of Johannesburg in the local government elections.