Former Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has been officially removed from his role as MMC for Community Development.

The announcement was made on Saturday by the office of the current Johannesburg mayor, Dada Morero.

Kabelo Gwamanda fired as MMC

According to the office, Gwamanda he was “relieved of all official duties” with immediate effect.

“The decision to offload Gwamanda is effective immediately and is intended to ensure that the city’s service delivery remains uninterrupted and continues to meet the needs of its residents,” it said in a statement.

The former Joburg mayor was replaced by Patriotic Alliance (PA) councilor Tebogo Nkonkou.

“The Executive Mayor expressed his confidence that (Councillor) Nkonkou will lead the department with dedication and commitment to further improve the lives of city residents.

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“The city remains steadfast and committed to ensuring the continued delivery of quality services to the people.”

Gwamanda served as Mayor of Johannesburg from May 2023 to August 2024, succeeding fellow Al Jama-ah councilor Thapelo Amad.

He resigned on 13 August following pressure from both the ANC and the public over the state of the city.

Three days later, Gwamanda was replaced by Dada Morero.

Former mayor of Joburg arrested

Gwamanda was placed on special leave after he was recently arrested on fraud charges.

He is accused of running a funeral policy scam through his entity, iThemba Lama Afrika, between 2011 and 2012, defrauding residents of Soweto.

The issue came to public attention when former Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse and her party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), gave Gwamanda 48 hours to publicly address allegations of fraud.

READ MORE: ‘Throwing him to the wolves’: Phalatse on Gwamanda’s ‘suspicious’ arrest

This prompted the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) to launch a investigate in iThemba Lama Afrika and Gwamanda.

One of Gwamanda’s alleged victims, Lefu Lebitsa, said citizen last month he lost 21,000 lei from the funeral policy scam.

Lebitsa claimed that Gwamanda and his business partner convinced him to invest a one-off payment of R2 000, promising to receive R20 000 by the end of 2014.