How corrupt politicians still find a home in office

SOMETIMES, what you are not hearing people talk about at parties and in taxis is revealing.

- NKOSIKHULULE NYEMBEZI

What if we no longer heard a single person at a train station or braai gathering expressing outrage that so many tainted politicians are running for municipal council positions in by-elections nationwide or inducted in other legislative bodies despite audit reports revealing that they embezzled public funds or allegations orchestrated attacks of political rivals to trigger the vacancy they ended up filling?

What if we no longer saw angry tweets about this from the people who are, say, tweeting that, according to the auditor-general, South Africas local government landscape is in a crisis characterised by widespread governance failures and a pervasive lack of accountability?

Now that we have witnessed how much corrupt politicians have become entrenched after each by-election, and now that political manoeuvring is intensifying as we are fast approaching the 2026 local government elections, it seems like few people care as much as they used to.