Former Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille’s bid to become Joburg’s next mayor has been met with skepticism, particularly due to her age.
Over the weekend, the Hillbrow-born politician was announced as the party’s official candidate for the 2026 elections.
HELEN ZILLE’S AGE – HOW OLD IS JOBURG’S MAYORAL CANDIDATE?
Helen Zille was born in Hillbrow, downtown Johannesburg, in 1951, making her 74 years old.
At the kick-off of the 2026 mayoral campaign, the woman dubbed “GodZille” will be 75 years old.
For many South Africans on social media, this could be cause for concern.
@MikeRamothwala: “Why is everyone ignoring the fact that Helen Zille is almost 75 years old? This is an insult to all DA leaders in Johannesburg”
@Brian_Potsi: “The DA wants Helen 70+, as mayor of Joburg. The future is young leadership, not pension politics.”
@SihleLonzi: “Helen is visibly OLD, TIRED, and FRAIL. Which makes sense because she is a 75-year-old PENSIONER. Helen must spend quality time with her grandchildren. There is no Johannesburg that will be FIXED by a Granny!”
OLD, NOT COLD
Before being named as the DA’s official Joburg mayoral candidate, Helen Zille shut down her age-shamers
She responded to one: “There are many young competitors for mayor of Joburg who will be interviewed. The selection panel will fairly consider us all. DA has many young mayors and some not-so-young.”
Speaking to The Citizen, Helen said of her endevour: “Whatever happens, this is the last roll of the dice for me and the very last roll of the dice for Johannesburg. So Johannesburg must just make damn sure that they make up their minds what they want.”
