By Thapelo Molefe
An ex-ActionSA PR councillor has launched a scathing attack on his former party, accusing it of misleading voters and operating as a “top-down dictatorship”, as he and dozens of members defected to the Democratic Alliance in Soweto on Thursday.
Mandla Nyaqela, a former proportional representation councillor for Ward 48 in Johannesburg, said he resigned from ActionSA on Thursday morning because he could no longer “lie” to residents about the party’s prospects and internal culture.
“I was not expelled from ActionSA. I resigned this morning as a councillor. I do not want to continue lying to the residents of Dobsonville that they must vote ActionSA and later regret it,” Nyaqela said during a media briefing.
He accused ActionSA of misleading voters about its ability to wield power and deliver change.
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“ActionSA is selling hope to the people of this country. I am from inside, I know they do not have power. It is a power-mongering organisation that is hoping for your vote to reach their own selfish political gains,” he said. “The lies must come to an end.”
Nyaqela said he had joined ActionSA with high expectations but had become disillusioned, alleging that there was no meaningful space for internal debate.
He described the party as centrally controlled, claiming that members were expected to receive instructions from the top rather than shape policy.
According to Nyaqela, positions within the party were appointed rather than elected, making it difficult, in his view, for the organisation to credibly promote democratic principles.
He was joined by former ActionSA Ward 37 branch chair Sipho Magubane, the chairs of four other Soweto branches and about 50 former ActionSA activists.
Magubane said he was “tired of telling my people lies” when residents asked about progress and developments within the party.
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“Every day they will ask me what’s happening. I would always say I’ll come back to you. I’ll come back to you. So there’s enough of that now. Enough is enough,” he said.
The group was formally welcomed by DA federal council chair and Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille, who described their decision as courageous and significant for the future of the city.
“It’s an enormous occasion today because with great courage, these are councillors and branch chairs and branch members of ActionSA, primarily from Soweto, who have thought very hard and very long about their future, but most importantly the future of their city,” she said.
Zille said residents were beginning to see that improved water and electricity supply, cleaner neighbourhoods, investment and job creation depended on “the kind of good governance that the DA has a record in delivering”.
The DA said it believes the defections will severely affect ActionSA’s ability to organise on the ground in Soweto.
The party added that it expects more members to follow as political contestation intensifies ahead of the 2026 local government elections.