Athletics South Africa (ASA) President James Moloi has told Parliament that the Soweto Marathon Trust (SMT) remains the lawful owner of the prestigious Soweto Marathon, following years of infighting and legal wrangling over the race’s control.
Last week, Moloi appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture to explain, among other things, the ongoing dispute between the Soweto Marathon Trust, Soweto Marathon (Pty) Ltd, and the Soweto Marathon NPC.
Trust holds rights to stage race
“The lawful owner of the Soweto Marathon is the Soweto Marathon Trust,” he said.
He said he knew this because at some point “I was the chairperson of Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA), and I was exposed to such information. I may not recall every detail, but I do know that the Trust holds the rights to stage the race. I also know that a representative from the Trust applied to host this year’s marathon,” Moloi told Parliament.
He told MPs that he had no knowledge of how Soweto Marathon (Pty) Ltd and Soweto Marathon NPC were established or how they later obtained rights to organise the event.
“I wasn’t aware of the Pty Ltd or NPC because they were established long after I had left CGA. I don’t even know how they came about,” he said.
The Soweto Marathon, founded in 1991 to commemorate the 1976 Soweto Uprising and celebrate township resilience, has long been regarded as “The People’s Race”. For years, it was managed by the Soweto Marathon Trust, which partnered with various sponsors and government agencies to host the event.
Race director accused of hijacking marathon
However, tensions erupted in 2019 when then-race director Thokozani Mazibuko was accused by founding trustee Thulani Sibisi of hijacking the race by registering a separate private company, Soweto Marathon (Pty) Ltd, without the consent of the Trust.
Sibisi alleged that Mazibuko diverted sponsorship funds into a different bank account and sidelined the Trust from all operational and financial decisions.
In November last year, Sibisi told Sunday World that the Trust had effectively been stripped of its powers even though it was the legitimate custodian of the event. The conflict soon escalated into a governance crisis, involving competing entities, each claiming ownership of the marathon brand and its intellectual property.
During the October 13 2025 parliamentary session, MPs pressed Moloi to clarify ASA’s official position, accusing him of “turning a blind eye” to the ongoing chaos that threatened the race’s continuity.
“These are provincial matters, and I am not aware of them. I will ask the CGA to give me a report about this,” Moloi initially told Parliament.
Unimpressed, the committee directed ASA to intervene and mediate between the warring parties to safeguard the integrity of the marathon.
President directed to intervene
“Since you agree that the Soweto Marathon Trust is the rightful owner, it cannot be right that the owners are deprived of their rights. ASA is therefore expected to intervene and resolve the issues between the fighting parties to ensure the stability and continuity of this iconic event,” said ANC MP Matsolo Mmolotsane.
Initially, CGA had approved the Soweto Marathon Trust to host the 2025 race on November 2. But in a sudden and controversial U-turn, CGA revoked that approval. It instead sanctioned the newly formed NPC to stage the event on November 29. The move deepened divisions in the athletics community.
Amid the legal wrangling, the NPC forged ahead with preparations.
On September 17, a lavish launch for the race took place at the Soweto Theatre. It was attended by major stakeholders, including headline sponsor African Bank and officials from the City of Johannesburg. Among the VIP guests were the city’s MMC for Community Development, Tebogo Nkokou, and African Bank CEO, Sbu Khumalo. They both publicly endorsed the upcoming race.
