JOHANNESBURG, Thursday 3 September 2026 — Senior ANC Johannesburg councillor and mayoral committee member Sithembiso Zungu has secured the party’s nomination to defend Ward 122 in the 4 November local government elections despite an unresolved ANC disciplinary process and separate allegations that have been investigated by law-enforcement authorities.
Zungu, the City of Johannesburg’s Member of the Mayoral Committee for Group Corporate and Shared Services, appears on the ANC’s candidate verification documentation for Ward 122, which includes Vlakfontein, Lehae and surrounding areas in southern Johannesburg, according to Daily Maverick.
The nomination is significant because Zungu is not only a ward councillor but a senior member of the executive leadership of Johannesburg, one of the most competitive municipalities in the 2026 elections.
It also places renewed attention on the ANC’s candidate-vetting and internal disciplinary processes as the party attempts to retain or expand its position in a fragmented Johannesburg council.
The ANC’s National Executive Committee confirmed in May that Zungu was one of five members whose matters had been considered by the party’s Integrity Commission.
The NEC said it had “fully endorsed” the Integrity Commission’s report and referred Zungu, former police minister Bheki Cele, former social development minister Sisisi Tolashe, Matjhabeng mayor Thanduxolo Khalipha and ANC Sedibeng regional secretary Jason Mkhwane to the party’s National Disciplinary Committee.
The NEC itself was designated as the complainant in those proceedings.
The ANC did not disclose the Integrity Commission’s complete findings concerning Zungu.
Daily Maverick reported that an objection was lodged against Zungu’s candidacy during the ANC’s candidate-selection process but that he was nevertheless cleared to participate and ultimately nominated.
Zungu has previously been linked to allegations concerning interference with construction projects and payments from developers.
ActionSA alleged in September 2025 that Zungu had received money connected to a housing development and called for Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero to suspend him while an investigation continued.
Those were allegations made by a political opponent and did not constitute findings of criminal guilt.
Zungu has denied wrongdoing.
In an interview published in 2025, he described allegations against him as a “political witch hunt” originating from internal ANC disputes and said his dealings with a construction company predated his election as Ward 122 councillor.
Daily Maverick reported this week that Zungu is also the subject of a criminal assault investigation arising from complaints by activists in the area.
No criminal conviction against Zungu arising from those allegations has been reported, and the existence of an investigation does not establish guilt.
The controversy raises a separate question about how the ANC is applying its own rules for candidates ahead of November’s election.
The party’s published 2026 candidate-selection rules state that a candidate is ineligible where an Integrity Commission case has been finalised and the NEC has approved and implemented a recommendation for suspension of membership or for the member to step aside from leadership or public office.
The rule does not automatically disqualify every member referred to the National Disciplinary Committee.
The ANC said in May that Zungu’s matter had been referred for disciplinary proceedings but did not announce that he had been suspended from membership or instructed to step aside.
His nomination therefore does not, on the information publicly available, establish that the party breached its candidate rules.
However, it leaves open the possibility that the disciplinary process could reach a conclusion while Zungu is an ANC election candidate.
The ANC has previously said candidate vetting forms part of its broader organisational renewal programme.
Its NEC said last year that candidates credibly implicated in certain serious matters should be considered ineligible and stressed that vetting candidates for public office was important to the credibility of both the ANC and government.
Zungu’s position is particularly relevant because Johannesburg is expected to be one of the country’s most closely contested metros.
The city has been governed through shifting coalition and minority arrangements since the ANC lost its outright majority in 2016.
Mayor Dada Morero currently leads an ANC-led administration, while the DA has selected former party leader Helen Zille as its mayoral candidate and several other parties are campaigning to increase their representation.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa said this week that Johannesburg has 80 political parties contesting proportional-representation seats, the largest field among the country’s metropolitan municipalities.
The IEC is currently scrutinising nominations submitted before the 28 August deadline and is due to publish final candidate lists on 16 September.
Zungu’s immediate electoral position will therefore become formally settled when the IEC publishes the certified lists.
Beyond that process, attention will remain on the outcome of the ANC disciplinary proceedings and whether they produce any sanction affecting his party membership, public office or candidacy before Johannesburg residents vote on 4 November.
