The Afrika Mayibuye movement has officially opened its public nomination process for the 2026 Local Government Elections, calling on communities across KwaZulu-Natal to nominate respected local leaders to represent them.
The launch was held at the Onomo Hotel in North Beach, Durban, on Thursday, 9 July, where community leaders, activists and supporters gathered to outline the movement’s vision for local government.
Speaking at the Afrika Mayibuye councillor candidate launch, the movements second deputy president, Nomsa “KaMashobane” Sibisi said the movement wanted to ensure only credible, community-endorsed candidates contested under its banner.
She explained that, unlike traditional political parties where candidates are often elected at branch meetings, Afrika Mayibuye had introduced a verification process to determine who qualifies to stand as a councillor candidate.
KaMashobane said: “ Candidates may be nominated by community members or nominate themselves. Once nominated, they will be given one week to gather support from registered voters across the ward.The people supporting the candidate must be registered voters from different voting districts within the ward. We will then verify every supporter to ensure they are legitimate registered voters,” she added.
KaMaShobane said the movement would also seek endorsements from respected community figures, including traditional leaders, church leaders and other recognised community representatives, to confirm that the candidate is known, trusted and has a proven record of serving the community.
“We are not going to judge people by appearances. We want leaders who enjoy the respect and confidence of their communities. The verification process will help us identify candidates who have genuine community support,” KaMashobane emp-hasised
The movement said it was looking beyond career politicians by encouraging residents to nominate trusted teachers, nurses, traditional leaders, business people, religious leaders and community activists who have consistently served their communities.
