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This is Mr Khumalo — a man who never wanted his pockets empty. But whenever the money ran out, he didn’t beg. He hunted. By day or night, he roamed the streets, chasing drug dealers, confronting criminals, and sometimes clashing with the law itself.
What shocked many wasn’t just his zeal — it was that sometimes, the drugs he seized never made it to the police station. What was he doing with them?
Now, that same man — Xolani Khumalo — is stepping into the political spotlight as ActionSA’s newly announced mayoral candidate for Ekurhuleni. The announcement has divided the city: hero to some, opportunist to others.
Ekurhuleni, home to O.R. Tambo International Airport — Africa’s busiest gateway and a known drug trafficking hotspot — is a city under siege. From corruption scandals to rampant crime and crumbling infrastructure, it has become a mirror of South Africa’s broader dysfunction.
Khumalo says he wants to change that.
Speaking to The Star, he described his mayoral run as “a great honour” and a mission to restore dignity, safety, and working services. “Having grown up in Tembisa, I know what it means to live without proper hospitals, without service delivery. Every cent should be channelled to the people,” he said.
His plan? A sweeping anti-corruption drive — a zero-tolerance crusade aimed at rooting out the rot in local government. He promises an Independent Anti-Corruption Unit to investigate, prosecute, and publicly expose wrongdoing. Officials who can’t explain their wealth would face lifestyle audits. Those who fail residents would be publicly rated.
“Residents will be able to hold officials accountable,” Khumalo said. “Bad service and corruption will be exposed for everyone to see.”
ActionSA regional spokesperson Tumelo Tshabalala insists Khumalo isn’t “just another politician.” He describes him as a street fighter turned reformer — a man who “stood up against gangsters, drug dealers, and corrupt officials long before there was a political platform.”
According to Tshabalala, the party didn’t hesitate to back Khumalo. “Ekurhuleni is in crisis — maladministration, corruption, and drugs have eaten the city from within. We needed someone fearless,” he said.
Part of Khumalo’s plan includes creating specialised metro police units in crime hotspots to dismantle gangs, drug networks, and illegal mining operations. “We need strong, disciplined officers fighting crime, not taking bribes,” Tshabalala said.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, himself a former mayor of Johannesburg, praised Khumalo as a “fearless, ethical leader” ready to “reclaim Ekurhuleni from criminal syndicates and rebuild a broken city.”
But behind the applause lies unease.
Khumalo’s fame came from Sizok’thola, a hit Moja Love television show where he confronted alleged drug dealers on camera. The show made him a national name — and, in April 2025, a courtroom defendant. He was acquitted of charges linked to the death of a suspected drug dealer during a televised raid, but the case left a mark on his reputation.
Political analyst Kenneth Moeng Mokgatlhe calls his candidacy “a bold but risky experiment.”
“This is a big win for ActionSA,” he said. “People are tired of politicians who only make promises. Khumalo has a track record of action. But turning activism into governance is not the same thing.”
Mokgatlhe says Khumalo’s real challenge lies not in his courage but in his capacity. “Fighting drugs on TV is one thing. Running a collapsing metro is another. Ekurhuleni needs roads fixed, water running, refuse collected — and it needs trust restored.”
Another analyst, Anda Mbikwana, was more blunt. “Ekurhuleni is drowning,” he said. “Sewage runs through streets. Potholes swallow cars. Taps run dry. Rubbish piles up while residents pay for services they don’t get. The city’s decay is deep, structural, and decades in the making.”
Mbikwana warns that Khumalo’s popularity could mask a worrying trend in South African politics — the rise of celebrity politicians. “We’ve seen musicians, actors, and TV personalities enter politics. They bring attention, but not always results. Our democracy is turning fame into qualification.”
Still, Khumalo’s supporters see him as a man shaped by the streets, not shielded from them. His followers — many young, frustrated voters — call him “The People’s Mayor.” They see in him a man who’s done what politicians only talk about: confronting criminals face-to-face.
Khumalo says his mission goes beyond politics. “It’s about giving people back their dignity,” he insists. “For too long, residents have lived in fear — of crime, of corruption, of being ignored.”
Yet, whispers about his past refuse to fade. Former colleagues and critics quietly question how he handled seized contraband during his anti-drug campaigns. Some allege he blurred the line between justice and vigilantism — a charge he firmly denies.
What no one can deny is his charisma. In a city worn down by failed leadership, Khumalo’s blunt honesty and hands-on reputation have electrified voters who’ve lost faith in career politicians.
His rallies draw crowds who chant his name not like a politician’s, but like a fighter’s. In their eyes, he’s not another man in a suit — he’s one of them.
But can a man once accused of taking the law into his own hands now enforce it from the mayor’s office? Can a crusader against crime also lead a city riddled with administrative decay?
Those questions hang over Khumalo’s campaign like a shadow — one that even his fiercest energy can’t completely outrun.
For now, his supporters see him as hope reborn, while critics see danger dressed as heroism.
In the end, whether Xolani Khumalo becomes the mayor who rescues Ekurhuleni or another name in a long line of political casualties may depend not on his courage — but on his ability to prove that a man once chasing criminals in the dark can now lead a city into the light.
