Mary Phadi has already survived one political divorce. On Wednesday, she faces the ballot box to discover whether voters are prepared to give her second political marriage their blessing.
The former MK Party heavyweight, whose bitter fallout with former president Jacob Zuma ended in her expulsion, is now seeking electoral redemption under ActionSA’s green banner.
READ MORE: ‘Jacob Zuma broke my heart’ – former MK Party leader Mary Phadi
Phadi, the party’s Nkangala district mayoral candidate, is scheduled to cast her ballot at Bankenveld Curro Private School in eMalahleni at 10am.
The polling station falls within voting district 54650639, according to registration details she provided to Sunday World.
For Phadi, the occasion represents more than another election. It is an opportunity to test whether her political influence survives the collapse of her relationship with the party she helped establish in Mpumalanga.
Just two years ago, Phadi was among the most prominent faces of the MK Party in the province.
She helped establish its provincial structures before leading its caucus into the Mpumalanga legislature following the 2024 general elections.
The MK Party secured 193 995 votes and nine provincial legislature seats, overtaking both the DA and EFF to become the official opposition.
But the political relationship that appeared destined for success eventually collapsed.
In July 2025, Phadi told Sunday World that Zuma had broken her heart after the Mbombela High Court upheld her expulsion.
“I have so much respect for Mr Zuma. That man broke my heart. I am human. In summary, I feel that I was betrayed by Mr Zuma,” she said.
The painful departure brought an abrupt end to her tenure in the provincial legislature.
Now the ballot box offers an opportunity to establish whether her political influence can survive outside the party she helped build.
From heartbreak to a new political home
Phadi’s move to ActionSA represents one of the more intriguing political realignments in this year’s municipal elections.
In April, ActionSA president Herman Mashaba unveiled her as the party’s mayoral candidate for Nkangala District Municipality.
The announcement placed Phadi at the centre of the party’s campaign to establish itself in Mpumalanga’s municipal politics.
Her new political home is markedly different from the MK Party.
While the MK Party draws heavily on Zuma’s political legacy, ActionSA presents itself as an alternative focused on competent administration, accountability and municipal service delivery.
For Phadi, the move also provides an opportunity to demonstrate that her political identity extends beyond her former association with Zuma.
She believes voters should never surrender their democratic choices to others.
“Not voting means giving up my voice because elections are decided by the people who go out and vote,” Phadi told Sunday World.
“If I don’t vote, someone else will make the decision for me. I will be stuck with other people’s choices, and I won’t even be able to complain because I allowed it to happen.”
Her remarks carry particular significance given her recent political history.
A woman who once helped build a party, only to lose her position within it, is now appealing to voters to exercise the political power that remains entirely their own.
“By participating in the electoral process as a voter, I get a say in how things are done for the next five years. My power is in my vote,” she said.
The Nkangala challenge
Phadi’s ambitions extend beyond the voting station at Bankenveld.
Nkangala District Municipality encompasses several municipalities, including eMalahleni, Steve Tshwete, Emakhazeni, Victor Khanye, Dr JS Moroka and Thembisile Hani.
The district includes important coal-mining and industrial centres alongside rural communities facing longstanding development challenges.
Its economic importance has not insulated municipalities from public complaints about infrastructure, water provision, roads and municipal administration.
Phadi has extensive experience in the transport and logistics industry and is president of the Truckers Association of South Africa.
That background gives her particular familiarity with the relationship between infrastructure, industry and economic opportunity.
But her political challenge is considerably different from the one she faced in 2024.
Then, she was helping establish the MK Party during a national election in which Zuma’s political influence attracted substantial attention.
This time, she must help ActionSA win support in a local government contest where voters are likely to judge parties on their ability to deliver services.
ActionSA did not have the same established provincial electoral presence in the 2021 municipal elections that the ANC, DA and EFF enjoyed.
Phadi therefore faces the task of building a meaningful local electoral base rather than defending a substantial existing one.
And winning the district mayoral position involves another political hurdle.
Residents do not directly elect district mayors. The position is determined through the district council, whose composition reflects the applicable local government electoral system.
Consequently, Phadi’s ambitions depend on ActionSA’s electoral performance and the political balance that emerges after the votes are counted.
If no party secures sufficient control, negotiations and alliances could become decisive.
A ballot for a political second chance
Phadi believes Wednesday’s elections mark a turning point for her new party in Mpumalanga.
“These elections are a historic moment for Mpumalanga, as the province will be participating in the local government elections under ActionSA for the first time,” she said.
“ActionSA will mark 2026 as a breakthrough into municipal elections.”
Her optimism comes against the backdrop of a turbulent political journey.
In October 2024, she was expelled from the MK Party amid allegations of defying party instructions.
She challenged the decision and secured temporary relief through the courts before the dispute returned to the judiciary.
In July 2025, the Mbombela High Court upheld her expulsion, ending her tenure as an MK Party representative.
READ MORE: Busisiwe Mkhwebane wins big as court declares Mary Phadi no longer MKP member
She subsequently joined ActionSA, where she has emerged as one of the party’s prominent provincial campaigners.
But political reinvention is not the same as electoral redemption.
Phadi must persuade voters that her experience, business background and new political allegiance offer a credible alternative to established parties.
Her personal journey may attract attention, but residents facing municipal failures want more than an account of her previous political battles.
They expect answers about water, roads, jobs and accountable government.
On Wednesday, Phadi heads to Bankenveld Curro Private School to exercise the democratic right she believes nobody should surrender.
The former MK Party leader has already learned that political loyalty does not guarantee political survival.
Now she must discover whether a new party can deliver what her old political home could not.
A fresh mandate from voters. And perhaps, eventually, the mayoral chain.
RELATED: MK Party sends Yengeni to rescue imploding MP structures
- Mary Phadi, former MK Party leader expelled after fallout with Jacob Zuma, is contesting the Nkangala district mayoral position under ActionSA in the 2026 municipal elections.
- Phadi played a key role in establishing the MK Party's provincial structures and led its caucus into the Mpumalanga legislature after the 2024 general elections.
- ActionSA, focused on competent administration and municipal service delivery, selected Phadi as their mayoral candidate, positioning her at the center of their campaign in Mpumalanga.
- Nkangala District Municipality includes several municipalities and faces challenges like infrastructure and service delivery, areas where Phadi's experience in transport and logistics is relevant.
- The district mayor is elected by the district council rather than directly by residents, making ActionSA's overall electoral performance critical to Phadi's mayoral ambitions.
Mary Phadi has already survived one political divorce. On Wednesday, she faces the ballot box to discover whether voters are prepared to give her second political marriage their blessing.
The former MK Party heavyweight, whose bitter fallout with former president Jacob Zuma ended in her expulsion, is now seeking electoral redemption under ActionSA's green banner.
READ MORE: ‘Jacob Zuma broke my heart’ – former MK Party leader Mary Phadi
Phadi, the party's Nkangala district mayoral candidate, is scheduled to cast her ballot at Bankenveld Curro Private School in eMalahleni at 10am.
The polling station falls within voting district 54650639, according to registration details she provided to Sunday World.
For Phadi, the occasion represents more than another election. It is an opportunity to test whether her political influence survives the collapse of her relationship with the party she helped establish in Mpumalanga.
Just two years ago, Phadi was among the most prominent faces of the MK Party in the province.
She helped establish its provincial structures before leading its caucus into the Mpumalanga legislature following the 2024 general elections.
The MK Party secured 193 995 votes and nine provincial legislature seats, overtaking both the DA and EFF to become the official opposition.
But the political relationship that appeared destined for success eventually collapsed.
In July 2025, Phadi told Sunday World that Zuma had broken her heart after the Mbombela High Court upheld her expulsion.
"I have so much respect for Mr Zuma. That man broke my heart. I am human. In , I feel that I was betrayed by Mr Zuma," she said.
The painful departure brought an abrupt end to her tenure in the provincial legislature.
Now the ballot box offers an opportunity to establish whether her political influence can survive outside the party she helped build.
Phadi's move to ActionSA represents one of the more intriguing political realignments in this year's municipal elections.
In April, ActionSA president Herman Mashaba unveiled her as the party's mayoral candidate for Nkangala District Municipality.
The announcement placed Phadi at the centre of the party's campaign to establish itself in Mpumalanga's municipal politics.
Her new political home is markedly different from the MK Party.
While the MK Party draws heavily on Zuma's political legacy, ActionSA presents itself as an alternative focused on competent administration, accountability and municipal service delivery.
For Phadi, the move also provides an opportunity to demonstrate that her political identity extends beyond her former association with Zuma.
She believes voters should never surrender their democratic choices to others.
"Not voting means giving up my voice because elections are decided by the people who go out and vote," Phadi told Sunday World.
"If I don't vote, someone else will make the decision for me. I will be stuck with other people's choices, and I won't even be able to complain because I allowed it to happen."
Her remarks carry particular significance given her recent political history.
A woman who once helped build a party, only to lose her position within it, is now appealing to voters to exercise the political power that remains entirely their own.
"By participating in the electoral process as a voter, I get a say in how things are done for the next five years. My power is in my vote," she said.
Phadi's ambitions extend beyond the voting station at Bankenveld.
Nkangala District Municipality encompasses several municipalities, including eMalahleni, Steve Tshwete, Emakhazeni, Victor Khanye, Dr JS Moroka and Thembisile Hani.
The district includes important coal-mining and industrial centres alongside rural communities facing longstanding development challenges.
Its economic importance has not insulated municipalities from public complaints about infrastructure, water provision, roads and municipal administration.
Phadi has extensive experience in the transport and logistics industry and is president of the Truckers Association of South Africa.
That background gives her particular familiarity with the relationship between infrastructure, industry and economic opportunity.
But her political challenge is considerably different from the one she faced in 2024.
Then, she was helping establish the MK Party during a national election in which Zuma's political influence attracted substantial attention.
This time, she must help ActionSA win support in a local government contest where voters are likely to judge parties on their ability to deliver services.
ActionSA did not have the same established provincial electoral presence in the 2021 municipal elections that the ANC, DA and EFF enjoyed.
Phadi therefore faces the task of building a meaningful local electoral base rather than defending a substantial existing one.
And winning the district mayoral position involves another political hurdle.
Residents do not directly elect district mayors. The position is determined through the district council, whose composition reflects the applicable local government electoral system.
Consequently, Phadi's ambitions depend on ActionSA's electoral performance and the political balance that emerges after the votes are counted.
If no party secures sufficient control, negotiations and alliances could become decisive.
Phadi believes Wednesday's elections mark a turning point for her new party in Mpumalanga.
"These elections are a historic moment for Mpumalanga, as the province will be participating in the local government elections under ActionSA for the first time," she said.
"ActionSA will mark 2026 as a breakthrough into municipal elections."
Her optimism comes against the backdrop of a turbulent political journey.
In October 2024, she was expelled from the MK Party amid allegations of defying party instructions.
She challenged the decision and secured temporary relief through the courts before the dispute returned to the judiciary.
In July 2025, the Mbombela High Court upheld her expulsion, ending her tenure as an MK Party representative.
READ MORE: Busisiwe Mkhwebane wins big as court declares Mary Phadi no longer MKP member
She subsequently joined ActionSA, where she has emerged as one of the party's prominent provincial campaigners.
But political reinvention is not the same as electoral redemption.
Phadi must persuade voters that her experience, business background and new political allegiance offer a credible alternative to established parties.
Her personal journey may attract attention, but residents facing municipal failures want more than an account of her previous political battles.
They expect answers about water, roads, jobs and accountable government.
On Wednesday, Phadi heads to Bankenveld Curro Private School to exercise the democratic right she believes nobody should surrender.
The former MK Party leader has already learned that political loyalty does not guarantee political survival.
Now she must discover whether a new party can deliver what her old political home could not.
A fresh mandate from voters. And perhaps, eventually, the mayoral chain.
RELATED: MK Party sends Yengeni to rescue imploding MP structures
