Written by Ike Boss and Robert Duigan‍

Malusi Booi served as Cape Town’s MMC for Housing from 2016 to 2023, navigating the shifting political waters of three mayors—Patricia de Lille, Dan Plato, and Geordin Hill-Lewis.

But his entry into the political arena came courtesy of Helen Zille, who recruited him in 2013. Before taking on the role of councillor, Booi worked as a community engagement officer in Zille’s office during her tenure as Western Cape Premier.

Booi’s time in office coincided with that of Bonginkosi Madikizela, a close ally of Zille’s. Madikizela held the position of Western Cape Minister of Human Settlements from 2014 to 2019 under Zille, and later became Minister of Transport and Public Works under Premier Alan Winde. However, his political career was abruptly cut short in 2021, when he was suspended for falsifying his qualifications and subsequently resigned as both minister and DA Provincial Leader.

The significance of this to Malusi Booi’s recent trouble with the law, is that the City’s connections to the 28s gong front company Glomix go further back than Booi’s tenure. Nor was the nature of these deals much of a secret - Fadiel Adams relentlessly complained about the City’s contracts with the gangs from 2019, and named officials in his inaugural council speech in 2021, but the DA took no action to investigate these links, and only took disciplinary action when Malusi Booi’s office was raided in 2023.

Madikizela’s ties to Zille run deep, having previously served as her spokesperson during her stint as Cape Town mayor. Notably, he managed housing projects with Glomix projects for the city, justifying his actions by arguing that provincial supply chain procedures were quicker and more efficient than those of the municipality. It was all about service delivery, or so he claimed—though this efficiency raises eyebrows in some quarters. By early 2023, a Memorandum of Agreement between the provincial and municipal human settlements departments was still in effect, despite concerns about Glomix’s operations. The company, which held a valid BBBEE certificate at the time, was later blacklisted in March 2024 for submitting a fraudulent certificate.

And now, to a different yet connected matter: the blame game. Rassie Erasmus cost the Springboks a match, many argue, by making poor substitutions. Leadership, after all, entails accountability. And so, by the same logic, Mayor Hill-Lewis bears responsibility for the Booi saga. After all, the mayor’s office is the nerve centre of local governance.

Booi’s office was raided, and his suspension followed. But the scandal should hardly have been a surprise. For 483 days, Hill-Lewis parked near Booi’s spot at the Civic Centre, seemingly oblivious to the signals: the expensive cars, the talk of wine labels. Booi’s ex-wife had secured an interim protection order against him in 2022, and questions remain about the mayor’s awareness—or lack thereof.

Here are the City of Cape Town Housing Projects transferred back by the provincial infrastructure department:

It would not be the first time the DA turned a blind eye to misconduct. The case of George’s Deputy Mayor, Raybin Figland, who remains in office despite allegations of extorting sex in exchange for job opportunities, is a lingering blot on the party’s record. Today marks 882 days since George Deputy Executive Mayor Raybin Figland’s schoolgirl victim reported his extortion.

Similarly, financial irregularities tied to the Garden Route District Municipality have persisted for years without resolution, and nobody has been fired for the fiasco in Hessequa, where the municipal manager was hired despite lingering allegations of cash for jobs at his previous post in Midvaal.

Conrad Poole was given a promotion to parliament instead of facing the music for his own cash for jobs scandal in Drakenstein, and Malusi Booi was similarly rewarded instead of being expelled for bringing the party into disrepute over the corruption in Garden Route.

So, did Hill-Lewis simply not notice what Booi was up to? Or does his inaction reveal a deeper failure of leadership? Either way, his qualifications for running a metro are now in question. After all, the executive mayor of a city cannot afford to be indifferent—or worse, oblivious.

Yes, action was eventually taken - after the police had raided the Human Settlements offices. Glomix House Brokers, the firm Booi allegedly colluded with, was blacklisted in March 2024. But the delay in addressing the scandal, alongside the unsettling connections between Booi, Madikizela, and their shared interests in construction and luxury, casts a long shadow.

In an effort to override the blacklisting of their front companies, the gangs have turned from bribery to coercion, and several councillors have been threatened in their offices, while some have lost their lives. The City should never have allowed these people a beachhead on their balance sheets.

Helen Zille, once a formidable political force, now finds her name associated with poster boys of a party increasingly mired in controversy.

There may be more to say tomorrow. For now, one thing remains clear: the cynics, once seen as fearless guardians of public virtue, still have much to snarl about.

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