The newly elected City of Johannesburg mayor, Jolidee Matongo, has died. Matongo who had been appointed as mayor on August 10 died in a car accident on Saturday evening, hours after participating in an ANC electioneering programme with President Cyril Ramaphosa in Soweto.
He had been at the helm of the mayoral office for just over a month after being elected unopposed at a council meeting.
The mayor’s political ally in Gauteng, Lebogang Maile and other officials confirmed the death of Matongo.
Matongo replaced Geoff Makhubo, who died from Covid-19 complications. His mayoral candidacy provoked a heated contest between two factions in the ANC in the region.
He had risen through the ranks, from serving as a member of the Soweto Student Congress and the Congress of South African Students before moving on to serve as the regional head of communications in the ANC for eight years.
Matongo and two other candidates became the first group to be interviewed by the ANC national top brass.
This happened under new rules that prospective metro mayors are interviewed by the ANC’s powerful top six, including Ramaphosa