DURBAN, Thursday 27 August 2026 — The Democratic Alliance has named Rob Bentele as its mayoral candidate for the City of uMhlathuze and Leon Garbade for Ray Nkonyeni Municipality, expanding its push for control of strategically important KwaZulu-Natal councils ahead of the 4 November local government elections.
DA KwaZulu-Natal leader Sithembiso Ngema announced the two candidates on Thursday, saying the party intended to challenge for control of both municipalities rather than simply increase its opposition representation.
Bentele is a Richards Bay resident who became nationally known after winning Survivor South Africa: Island of Secrets in 2019.
He announced earlier this year that he was entering party politics and seeking selection as a DA councillor in uMhlathuze. Thursday’s announcement elevates him from prospective councillor to the party’s candidate for mayor.
Bentele has not previously served in elected government.
He said his lack of municipal experience should not prevent him from leading the council and that he would undergo accelerated training with support from the party.
The DA said it selected him because of his community involvement and argued that his political outsider status could appeal to residents dissatisfied with municipal governance.
uMhlathuze includes Richards Bay and Empangeni and is one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most economically important municipalities because of the Richards Bay industrial complex and port.
The municipality is currently governed by the IFP following political changes during the present council term, making the DA’s campaign a contest not only against the ANC but also against another party with which it has cooperated in provincial and municipal politics.
Garbade enters the Ray Nkonyeni contest with substantially more municipal experience.
He has served as a councillor since 2016 and is the DA’s caucus leader in the municipality.
Ray Nkonyeni covers a large part of KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast, including Port Shepstone and Margate.
Garbade said his campaign would focus on municipal finances, service delivery, infrastructure, crime and economic development.
He has previously been a prominent critic of the municipality’s finances and labour disputes, including prolonged industrial action that disrupted municipal services.
The DA said Thursday’s announcement forms part of its strategy to challenge for municipalities beyond its traditional areas of strength.
The two candidacies also demonstrate different approaches to candidate selection: an established councillor with a decade of municipal experience in Ray Nkonyeni and a political newcomer with a significant public profile in uMhlathuze.
Their announcement came during the same KwaZulu-Natal media briefing at which the DA confirmed that ActionSA’s recently announced KwaDukuza mayoral candidate, Halalisani Ndlovu, had resigned from that party and joined the DA.
Ndlovu will now support DA KwaDukuza mayoral candidate Privi Makhan rather than contesting against her.
Together, the developments indicate that the DA is concentrating resources on several KwaZulu-Natal municipalities where fragmented party support could make coalition negotiations important after the election.
Political parties have until 17:00 on Friday, 28 August to complete their candidate submissions to the Electoral Commission.
Once those lists are finalised, attention will shift from candidate selection to whether the DA can convert its expanded KwaZulu-Natal campaign into sufficient council representation to challenge the IFP, ANC, MK Party and other competitors for municipal control.
