The former Mangaung mayor and Afrikan Alliance for Social Democrats' (AASD) president, Papi Mokoena, was elected unopposed as the new mayor of the metro on Friday 14 April 2023 during a heavily guarded council sitting.

The Economic Freedom Fighters' (EFF) Mangaung chairperson and councillor, Kgopolang Lipale, said the election of Mokoena as the new mayor resembles the true spirit of democracy and it must never be taken for granted.

"Today the people of Mangaung have won and many of those who are detractors have lost.  We have today saw how the ANC is fighting democracy, which is something they always claim to have fought for. Nelson Mandela went to prison for 27 years for this. The Constitution we are all proud of – or they say they are proud of – today they fought it. This is the process of democracy. So we have seen today the ANC fighting democracy the people of Mangaung have. Change is coming in Mangaung. We now have a mayor that is going to deliver on people's expectations," Lipale added.

The DA leader in the province and a Member of the Provincial Legislature (MP), Roy Jankielsohn, said the election of Mokoena as the new mayor should be a symbol of hope for the people of Mangaung.

"The DA foresees legal challenges from the ANC, which will be dealt with by the new political management of the council. For almost three decades the ANC has transformed the City of Roses into a City of Filth, but this is a step in the right direction for the people of Mangaung and it bodes well for the democratic future of the Free State," Jankielsohn added.

The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) councillor in the Mangaung Council, Elizabeth Snyman Van Deventer, said good has won over bad. She said this is proof that the metro has councillors who believe in the City of Mangaung and who also believe in justice and truth.

"We promised the people service delivery and the ANC failed to do so. We promised them that we would prevent and fight corruption, but the ANC failed to do so. Today was proof thereof that councillors of the ANC were instructed not to attend the meeting in order to collapse council," Snman Van Deventer added.

Meanwhile, the DA's David Masoeu was also elected to the whip council. He was unopposed in his election. This means that despite the ANC having a majority number of councillors, they have lost all key positions of leadership in the metro.

The DA now has a speaker and council whip whilst AASD claimed the mayoral position.

However, the ANC still has Mapaseka Mothibi-Nkoane as the deputy mayor.

Most councillors of the ANC failed to attend the sitting on Friday whilst some, including Patrick Monyakoane and Mothibi-Nkoane, did attend. This meant the council could meet quorum and proceeded with the business of the day. In total, 53 councillors attended the proceedings.

In 2005, the mayor at the time, Mokoena, and 18 others were accused of a total of 259 charges, including theft, fraud, corruption, money laundering and racketeering involving an estimated R130 million. This led to Mokoena's arrest. Not all the accused faced all the charges. The trial in the Bloemfontein High Court followed an investigation by the now-disbanded Scorpions and dragged on from 2006 to 2012.

In 2012, Mokoena and his wife Granny were acquitted of fraud and all other charges.

Other former senior officials, such as the former municipal speaker Zongezile Zumane, former business manager Mzwandile Silwana and Jakes Thithi, a political advisor, were found guilty on some charges related to fraud and money laundering.

Silwana's wife Brigitte, Evodia Kok (Zumane's personal assistant), Laetitia Hoffman (Mokoena's personal assistant), Buyelwa Khethelo, a businesswoman from Rocklands, and two Heidedal businessmen, Keabecoe and Kegomodicoe Lekone, were also found guilty on some charges related to fraud and money laundering, according to Sapa.

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