Residents across Nelson Mandela’s ancestral home villages of Mvezo, Mqhekezweni, and Qunu are preparing to vote in what they describe as the most fiercely contested municipal ward elections in their history. Amid intense multi-party campaigning and an unprecedented contest that includes no ANC ward candidate in Qunu, traditional leaders and villagers are urging political tolerance and restraint to honour Madiba’s legacy.
While vibrant campaigning has energised the three communities in the King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality, locals insist that incoming representatives must focus on long-standing grievances, including deteriorating roads, water shortages, and high youth unemployment, rather than abandoning them once the polls conclude.
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