Former Johannesburg mayor and 2026 mayoral candidate Herman Mashaba with his wife, Connie, in their Sandton, Johannesburg home.
Image: Zohra Teke
What is ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, aka Mr Black Like Me, really like? Zohra Teke visited him at his home to find out, over a cup of rooibos, with biscuits of course.
I was nervous. Not because I was about to visit the home of Mashaba, but nervous about my hair being judged. After all, he is the founder of the most successful black hair brand. But I did my best with my hair and off I went, criss-crossing the failed traffic lights, potholes and burst pipes in Sandton, globally recognised as Africa's richest square mile—the irony!
The Mashaba home is a palatial setting within an exclusive, leafy estate. Don't judge; he earned it. Not through corruption, no tenderpreneur capture or whatever. Mashaba is a self-made business tycoon. An astute one at that.
He greets me warmly, ushers me into the lounge and we settle on rooibos to set the scene. Connie, his wife with the most beautiful model features, joins us. She's warm and I immediately take to her. Women have a natural instinct about other women. We either like or dislike instantly. Women are catty like that.
Introductions out of the way, Mashaba kicks off in parrot fashion, talking about his childhood, the passing of his father and the role his grandfather played in shaping him. It was interesting to hear how his name, Mashaba, was not his birth name, but a deviation from "high man".
"They used to call me high man because my grandfather used to say that I was going to be someone important like a high man in society. Eventually after apartheid I decided to formally adopt the name and changed it to Herman, but they still call me high man in my village," he chuckles as he relates this background. His grandfather certainly saw the leader in him and we muse over this.
Mashaba waxed lyrical about his business empire, clearly proud of his achievements (as he should be) before our conversation turned to his political trajectory as a former prominent DA mayor, his fallout with Helen Zille and later the formation of his current party, ActionSA, the third largest in Johannesburg.
At 66, Mashaba has no plans to slow down. On the contrary. He has ambitious plans to fix the city of Johannesburg as his party's mayoral candidate in the coming local elections. And he has political scores to settle with Zille. The mere mention of her name triggers him.
"Zille is the only woman in the world who can pass a lie detector test. Because she believes her lies!" Mashaba declares, before going on a tirade about Zille. The bad blood between them is real.
"Is it all worth it?" I ask Mashaba. "You're 66, made your money, live a comfortable life, kids are living theirs—why not just enjoy your time? Travel with Connie, just enjoy life. Why go through all this political stress?" And I turn to Connie and ask: "Do you regret his decision to go into politics?"
Her eyes flicker, she squirms slightly. I can tell it's not a comfortable question. She sighs, looks at Mashaba and replies softly: "I've learnt to accept it. We live our lives—him in his political world and me in the business—and then we come together as a couple. We dance, we take time out, we travel and all that is our time. It works."
Mashaba gets what he wants. He's driven by success and a winning attitude. It's how he managed to win Connie over and build a multi-million-rand, thriving business. I get the sense that for Mashaba, failure is not an option. Behind the warm, affable persona is a man who thrives on order, success and achieving his desired outcomes.
And that explains his obsession with Zille.
Mashaba blames Zille for much of his woes. "It was Zille who had me removed as mayor of Johannesburg. And she's responsible for this mess in the city. She secretly cut a deal with the ANC and look at the state we are in today," Mashaba says, frustration evident.
Connie tries to interject, the voice of calm. "But you shouldn't get so worked up about her. I sometimes think that..." and before she finishes, Mashaba interrupts with another 'but Zille' tirade.
Connie sighs. I sense it's a battle that's being waged often.
I wait for Mashaba to calm down, again. Connie asks the helper to bring some biscuits to go with our rooibos. I sip my tea, gaze out at the pool which sparkles through the windows even at night.
Biscuits arrive, Mashaba has his tea and calm prevails. Ah, the soothing effect of a good cup of rooibos tea!
"Is this battle more about settling political scores with Zille or is it really about wanting to fix Joburg?" I ask. Mashaba looks at me, hesitates, unsure for a fleeting moment on how to respond.
Connie smiles and nods—a girl code I read as agreeing with me, but she dare not say so.
Zohra Teke sits down with ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba.
Image: Supplied / Zohra Teke
"Look at this house. We have everything. But how can I be comfortable knowing that down the road people are going hungry, people are going without water?"
He is referring to Alexandra, the sprawling township a stone's throw from Sandton, where its 700,000 residents live in informal housing, mostly shacks. It's a stark symbol of the inequality facing South African society.
"The ANC kept black people ignorant and poor and went into government to be corrupted which is what big business did. They corrupted the ANC to the core. Big business captured the ANC. And the DA captured the Ramaphosa faction of the ANC, that's why the only way Zille can become mayor of Johannesburg is to work with the ANC on that. But she can only do it with the Ramaphosa faction," explains Mashaba.
Mashaba is passionate about politics, that's obvious. And his obsession with Zille aside, he has the track record of fixing problems—which is why his mayor campaign is aptly called 'unfinished business.'
Having led a multi-party coalition government after the African National Congress lost control of the city for the first time since 1994, Mashaba's then mayoral tenure is widely recognised for a number of achievements—fighting corruption, fixing the city's ailing infrastructure, labour reforms, driving investment and a clampdown on illegal foreign nationals who he blames for 'capturing Joburg's inner city.'
Mashaba's exodus as mayor of Johannesburg in 2019 has left the city battling political instability and declining service delivery, with several mayors in quick succession. Mashaba’s term is often viewed as the last relatively stable administration in Johannesburg, despite its challenges.
He's convinced he will return. He has unfinished business. And scores to settle.
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