Herman Mashaba during his interview with Maroela Media. (Photo: ActionSA)
Herman Mashaba candidly admits that he drove Cilliers Brink from the DA’s removal as mayor of Tshwane.
“I led it. And I want South Africa to know. I’m proud of that.
“I am the proudest South African because I made the decision to remove the arrogant Cilliers Brink,” Mashaba said in an interview to Maroela Media this week.
Brink was removed as mayor in September 2024 and with dr. Nasiphi replaced Moya from ActionSA after Mashaba decided that the party should instead side with the ANC in Tshwane.
With a view to this year’s local elections, Maroela Media wanted to know from Mashaba whether he now regrets the statement he made at the time – that he would work with the ANC “over his dead body”. Today, ActionSA governs together with the ANC in the Tshwane metro.
“(Cilliers Brink) forced us to reconsider,” says Mashaba about this.
“Cilliers Brink took us (ActionSA) for granted. The DA took us for granted. They didn’t realize we were pushovers not. We are not naive. We are not stupid.”
Cilliers Brink (Photo: Isabel Venter/Maroela Media)
Mashaba claims the DA approached the ANC at the time, shortly after the Government of National Unity (GNE) was established in 2024, and requested them to cooperate at the local level to remove ActionSA in Tshwane.
“Did you expect us to wait for the DA to come and remove us?
“If you try to kill Herman Mashaba – and Herman Mashaba knows that you are trying to kill him – I will kill you first.”
Mashaba says he has also been betrayed by his former party before.
He claims Helen Zille, the DA’s federal chairman and now also his opponent in Johannesburg, betrayed him in 2019 when he served as mayor of Johannesburg. Mashaba was a DA member at that stage.
Mashaba maintains that Zille was the one the ANC approached at the time to bring a motion of no confidence against him to kick him out as mayor of Johannesburg. He also says that at the time Zille mobilized members of the DA to support the motion against him.
“I led a stable coalition government in Johannesburg for 18 months until Helen Zille came and disrupted it”.
He therefore blames Zille for the dire state in which the Johannesburg metro is today.
Herman Mashaba, leader of ActionSA. (Photo:
“If Helen hadn’t planned my removal… Can you imagine where that city would be today? Under DA rule.
“Helen Zille must take responsibility. I know that’s not something DA supporters want to hear…
“I will never betray anyone. I have never betrayed anyone in my life and I don’t want anyone to betray me. If you betray me, you will see my brutality.”
Mashaba of ActionSA and Zille of the DA both hope to be elected as mayor in this year’s local elections and to straighten out a dilapidated Johannesburg.
However, Mashaba is clear that he wants nothing to do with Zille in the run-up to the election.
“I don’t want to associate with her. I don’t want anything to do with Helen Zille. As far as I’m concerned, she’s part of the right-wing group. I’ll never apologize for that.”
Maroela Media also asked Mashaba if he would be prepared to put aside his differences with Zille and enter a coalition government with the DA in Johannesburg.
Watch the full interview here.