Clement Manyathela Confirms Herman Mashaba vs Helen Zille Televised Debate: “Watch the Space”
- On Sunday, 22 February 2026, Clement Manyathela confirmed that a televised public debate between Johannesburg mayoral candidates Herman Mashaba (ActionSA) and Helen Zille (DA) is being planned
- The debate idea gained traction after Herman Mashaba was announced as ActionSA’s mayoral candidate on 21 February 2026
- Some social media users welcomed the debate and called for all mayoral candidates to participate for fairness, while others suggested venues
Source: UGC
SABC journalist Clement Manyathela has confirmed that a public debate between Johannesburg mayoral candidates Herman Mashaba and Helen Zille is in the works.
On Saturday, 21 February 2026, Herman Mashaba was announced as ActionSA’s mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg. Helen Zille was announced as the Democratic Alliance (DA) candidate in 2025, with several celebrities endorsing her candidacy.
Although the African National Congress (ANC) has yet to announce its candidate, and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has announced Mgcini Tshwaku, Action SA’s Mashaba and DA’s Zille are viewed as the favourites by several South Africans.
As South Africans weighed in on Mashaba’s candidature, Manyathela joined the chat and confirmed that a public debate between the ActionSA candidate and Zille was in the pipeline.
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Clement Manyathela confirms Herman Mashaba vs Helen Zille
On Sunday, 22 February 2026, social media user @Saint_Pablo31 suggested that Helen Zille and Herman Mashaba should have a televised public debate hosted by Clement Manyathela. The post was captioned:
“Would love a @HermanMashaba vs @helenzille debate on TV. Hosted by @TheRealClementM”
See the post below:
Clement Manyathela responded to the request and confirmed that the debate was a work in progress, and he was waiting for the two politicians to agree on a convenient date. The post was captioned:
“We pitched this to them last week. They seem to have agreed. So, watch the space. Maybe we will do it this week. Right @HermanMashaba and @helenzille?”
See the post below:
At the time of writing, neither Mashaba nor Zille had publicly confirmed whether they would participate in a televised public debate.
SA reacts as Manyathela confirms Mashaba vs Zille debate
In the comments, social media users weighed in with mixed opinions. While some welcomed the idea, others suggested that all candidates should participate in the debate in the spirit of fairness.
Here are some of the comments:
@RachibvumoC suggested:
“All candidates who are gunning for mayor positions must have a debate; we want to hold them accountable for their promises.”
@sibumabena shared:
“Please host it at the Monte Casino Movies cinema (the largest one) and sell tickets for us to watch. The winner of the debate gets the money towards their campaign 🤏🏽😃”
@Lethumusa_ advised:
“Wait, maybe till after Easter. It would be good to see whether other parties join the "announce-the-candidate" bus so that the debate is more rounded. Personally, I'd appreciate a debate that hosts parties as well as ideologies, and the left-wing narrative is missing if it's just DA and ActionSA.”
@Nomonde_B said:
“You might need a referee, a bouncer, a police officer or three on standby.”
Source: Twitter
Clement Manyathela and John Steenhuisen resolve their differences
Meanwhile, Briefly News previously reported that Clement Manyathela and outgoing DA leader John Steenhuisen publicly resolved their differences.
Taking to X (Twitter), Manyathela confirmed that the previous ban on Steenhuisen appearing on The Clement Manyathela Show had been lifted. Social media users questioned the reason for the earlier ban, speculated on Steenhuisen’s motives, and made humorous or critical comments about his return.
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Source: Briefly News
