A South African Politician Goes Snorkeling in a Giant Pothole to Highlight City Management Failures

Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille takes a swim in a pool in a road created by a water leak in Johannesburg, South Africa, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Jacques Nelles/Democratic Alliance via AP)

9:29 AM EDT, March 31, 2026

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A 75-year-old woman running for mayor of South Africa’s biggest city went snorkeling in a large, water-filled trench in a suburban road in a stunt to draw attention to what she describes as years of mismanagement by the city’s authorities.

Helen Zille, a well-known South African politician, wore a wetsuit, a mask and snorkel, and a pink-and-white swimming cap as she doggy-paddled through the pool of muddy brown water in an upscale Johannesburg suburb. The pool has been there for about three years because a burst water pipe hadn’t been properly fixed despite repeated attempts, she said.

Zille posted a video of herself in the trench that was picked up and broadcast by television news channels. In it, she says sarcastically, “And here we are with a free and wonderful Saturday-afternoon snorkel.”

“I wonder if there are any fishes in here. Let me take a look,” she added before dipping part of her head under the water.

Johannesburg is considered Africa’s richest city by private wealth but has struggled with years of failed local government coalitions and the degradation of services. It is known as the “City of Gold” after being founded on huge gold deposits.

Residents in the city of around six million people often face water and electricity cuts and broken infrastructure like burst water pipes and damaged roads.

Zille, who was previously leader of South Africa’s second-biggest party and mayor of the city of Cape Town, said she’ll stand in local elections for mayor of Johannesburg.

The current mayor of Johannesburg said in a post on X on Tuesday that the pothole was the result of a pipe “that had repeatedly failed over the past three years” and it was fixed and the hole was filled in a day after Zille’s stunt on Saturday.