LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: This new Soweto party uses Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s face to win votes

Vuka SA, a new political party that was recently launched in Kliptown, Soweto, is led by prominent local activist Sipho Jantjie. Its regalia features Jantjie, as well as the party’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate, Ronald Dyers.

But the party’s T-shirts and banners also feature KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, often alongside Burkina Faso’s military ruler Ibrahim Traoré. 

The party encourages voters to support Vuka SA “in the spirit of true leaders like” Mkhwanazi and Traoré, but one of the party’s T-shirts reads, “Mkhwanazi for president: Rise, unite & reclaim”. 

SAPS KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Robert Netshiunda told Daily Maverick, “[The] police in KwaZulu-Natal are getting legal advice on the matter to instruct those using his image without authorisation to refrain from doing so.”

The IEC had not responded to a request for comment at the time of writing.

Jantjie told Daily Maverick that Mkhwanazi did not hold any position in the party, nor was he involved in any capacity. Vuka SA is contesting the elections in Johannesburg on 4 November.

“Our display of General Mkhwanazi’s face is in celebration of his heroics and spirit,” he said.

“We do not have too many brave people in this country who can rise like General Mkhwanazi did. If we selected leaders like General Mkhwanazi, we would be in the better space,” he added.

“We didn’t have the chance to properly seek permission to use his face, but immediately after these elections, we are going to sit down with him because we would like to see him becoming a leader in this country.”

Mkhwanazi held a landmark press conference in June 2025, alleging that a drug cartel had infiltrated the country’s law enforcement, judicial and political arenas.

Following the press conference, in which he wore his Special Task Force uniform and was surrounded by armed police, Mkhwanazi has gained significant support, with the uMkhonto Wesizwe party even holding rallies to defend his position. He’s now more publicly recognisable than many political leaders.

“Mkhwanazi can take the lead. That is what we need,” Jantjie said.

“It’s not about leading. It’s about doing good, and politicians don’t find value in that. Mkhwanazi chose to take the route that he did [it] alone.”

Daily Maverick also asked Jantjie about Traoré, who has dismissed the notion of democracy in Burkina Faso, but is popular across the continent, particularly for standing up to the West. 

“It’s about the true leadership which we are lacking in this country, especially in Africa. All the leaders lack the strength or the power to change the lives of the people. Most leaders are captured, one way or another,” Jantjie said.

Earlier this year, the Human Sciences Research Council said popular support for democracy in South Africa is at an all-time low, while 26% of people see non-democratic options as acceptable.

Vuka SA, one of 80 parties contesting Joburg, has promised to prioritise disenfranchised communities such as Kliptown and promote corruption-free leadership.

Jantjie, formerly a member of Azapo, was previously part of establishing an anti-privatisation forum. The forum of 38 affiliates assisted communities with water, electricity and housing, and other social issues.

“We want to restore the people’s dignity,” he told Daily Maverick during a door-to-door campaign in Soweto, where many residents recognised him for his activist work.

Dyers, the party’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate, said the party would prioritise eradicating informal settlements, tackling hijacked buildings and setting a flat rate for electricity. 

“This man has always been working for the community. He has always been serving the community. I will follow him wherever he goes. I will vote for Mr Jantjie,” said Kliptown resident, 47-year-old Marlese Chabal.

Questions remain, however, over the party’s use of Mkhwanazi’s image in its campaign. DM