Moloantoa Geoffrey Makhubo (8 February 1968 – 9 July 2021) was a South African politician who served as the

Mayor of Johannesburg The Mayor of Johannesburg is the chief executive of the City Council and the highest elected position in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. List of mayors * Johan Zulch de Villiers (1897–1900) Appointed by South African Republic Executi ...

from December 2019 until his death from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

in July 2021. He was a member of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

and the party's regional chair. During the administration of Parks Tau, he served as the MMC (Member of the Mayoral Committee) for Finance.

Early life and education

Makhubo was born in 1968 in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

in the previous

Transvaal Province The Province of the Transvaal ( af, Provinsie van Transvaal), commonly referred to as the Transvaal (; ), was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name "Trans ...

. He obtained a BComm degree from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

in 1990. He fulfilled many Advanced Management courses. Makhubo completed a Management Advancement Programme (MAP) at Wits Business School in 1997. He also earned a Leadership in Local Government certificate from the University of Cape Town. At the time of his death in 2021, he was enrolled for a master's degree at Wits University.

Politics

Makhubo was the chairperson of the

African National Congress Youth League The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (NW ...

while in his youth. He served as the Johannesburg MMC for Finance under the mayoralty of Parks Tau. He also held the roles of Leader of Executive Business in Council and Chairperson of the Governance Cluster when Tau was mayor. Makhubo had served as the Co-President of the Metropolis Global Fund for Cities’ Development (FMDV). He had held senior leadership roles in the African National Congress's Greater Johannesburg Region. He was the regional treasurer before he became the regional leader in July 2018. He was appointed the caucus leader of the ANC in the city council after the resignation of Parks Tau in May 2019.

Mayoralty

On 28 November 2019, the

announced that it had nominated Makhubo for the position of mayor following the resignation of the Democratic Alliance's

Herman Mashaba Herman Samtseu Philip Mashaba (born August 26, 1959) is a South African politician, entrepreneur and the current president of ActionSA, a party he launched on 29 August 2020. He served as the Mayor of Johannesburg from 2016 to 2019. He is the fo ...

. He was officially elected to the office on 4 December 2019 after he received 137 out of 268 votes. The DA's Funzela Ngobeni received 101 votes, while the EFF's Musa Novela received 30 votes. Makhubo entered office under much controversy as he had been accused of gross corruption by both the Economic Freedom Fighters and the Democratic Alliance following a payment of R30 million to his company from Regiments Capital, a firm implicated in the ongoing State Capture inquiries, while he served as Finance MMC. On 27 November 2020, Makhubo testified at

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission, is a public inquiry established in Janu ...

. In May 2021, Makhubo was accused of corruption related to dealings with the company EOH Group as outlined at the

Zondo Commission The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission, is a public inquiry established in Janu ...

Death

Makhubo died of

related complications on 9 July 2021. He had been hospitalised a week prior.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Makhubo, Geoff 1968 births 2021 deaths 20th-century South African politicians Zulu people 21st-century South African politicians South African politicians African National Congress politicians University of the Witwatersrand alumni People from Soweto People from Gauteng Mayors of Johannesburg Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa