Kenny Kunene

He was a Johannesburg councillor and Transport member of the mayoral committee from 2023. He is the Patriotic Alliance's candidate for Mayor of Johannesburg in the 2026 municipal election, announced in September 2025.

Career

Kunene co-founded the Patriotic Alliance with Gayton McKenzie in November 2013 and was its secretary-general until 2014. He launched the ride-hailing app YooKoo Rides in 2019 and became known as the "Sushi King" for lavish parties. In 2023 he became a Johannesburg councillor and Transport member of the mayoral committee. The party named him its mayoral candidate on 15 September 2025.

Positions

Kunene's 2026 pitch, as EWN describes it, centres on law enforcement, hijacked buildings, revenue collection, illegal immigration, crime and basic services, and he has made municipal debt relief a defining promise. Wikipedia describes the Patriotic Alliance as national-conservative and right-wing populist, favouring mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and reinstating capital punishment.

Controversies

In July 2025 Kunene was found at the Sandton home of businessman Katiso Molefe when police arrived to arrest Molefe, who is accused in connection with the killing of musician DJ Sumbody; party leader Gayton McKenzie removed him from the mayoral committee and ordered an independent investigation. On 23 September 2025 the independent law firm concluded he had done nothing wrong, and he was later reinstated as councillor.

Summarised automatically from the linked sources. Wikipedia · Wikipedia · EWN · EWN