Chris Pappas begins second term as mayor of South Africa’s uMngeni
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on IOL, SABC News and Scrolla.Africa
Chris Pappas, of the Democratic Alliance (DA) party, is beginning a second term as mayor of the uMngeni municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, where his party retains control with more than 60% of the vote. His priorities include job creation, infrastructure and electricity problems in Hilton, according to IOL.
Re-elected unopposed at the council’s first sitting, Chris Pappas keeps his post, and Sandile Mnikathi is reappointed as deputy mayor, also unopposed. Kate Janse van Rensburg becomes council chair, replacing Janis Holmes. The swearing-in took place on Friday in Howick, in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal. According to the municipality, uMngeni is the first municipality in the province to swear in its councillors and elect its bureau since the 2026 local elections.
Pappas had already taken office after the 2021 local elections, when he became the first DA mayor of the municipality. The DA won ten of uMngeni’s thirteen wards, the ANC took two and the MK Party one. On the 25-seat council, the DA holds 15, the MK Party 5, the ANC 4 and the IFP 1.
The provincial MEC responsible for co-operative governance, Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, asked the new councillors to put the campaign behind them and serve all communities beyond party divisions. He praised uMngeni’s sound management of services and finances, noting it is the first of KwaZulu-Natal’s 54 municipalities to hold its inaugural sitting after the poll, and said he hopes the others will follow quickly.
