WATCH: Helen Zille called a ‘sgebengu’ over Soweto boat stunt

By Bulelwa Hoala

Helen Zille faced backlash after a video showed her appearing to row an inflatable boat in a flooded Soweto street, with residents calling her a “sgebengu” as the boat was reportedly being pulled.
The stunt formed part of her criticism of the ANC-led City of Johannesburg over ongoing flooding in Dobsonville, which residents say has persisted for years due to poor drainage.
After the video gained traction, the Johannesburg Roads Agency deployed teams to clear the stormwater system, while Zille continued using high-profile stunts to highlight service delivery failures.

The Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate, Helen Zille, has been labelled a crook after residents spotted the filming of her latest video, which shows her rowing an inflatable boat in a flooded street in Soweto on Tuesday, 14 April 2026.

In a video posted by X user @LukhonaMnguni, residents in a moving taxi can be heard calling Zille a “sgebengu” as they drive past the scene. The inflatable boat appears to be pulled by a man while Zille pretends to row.

Watch the video below:

Nicely cut out this version hey Helen?. But the people captured the gimmick well, starting to wake up to what is cooking. Isigebengu? Hawu!! Kanjani? I guess butsotsi comes in many forms. https://t.co/VqCIhu0zhF pic.twitter.com/i22Yzeqkun

— Lukhona Mnguni (@LukhonaMnguni) April 14, 2026

This comes after Zille criticised the ANC-governed City of Johannesburg, highlighting flooding at the intersection of Elias Motsoaledi Road and Main Road in Dobsonville, which she attributed to a failing drainage system.

According to one of the residents Zille interviewed in the video, the flooding has been an ongoing issue for the past six years.

Zille also encouraged residents to vote for the DA in the upcoming local government elections if they want improved service delivery.

Following the video gaining traction on social media, the City of Johannesburg, together with the Johannesburg Roads Agency, was seen on-site with a Jet Vac unit to clear the stormwater system.

“This specialised equipment provides immediate relief by pulling out debris and restoring the pipes to their maximum capacity.

“While the root cause is an undersized system requiring a full capacity upgrade, the JRA is committed to frequent maintenance and unblocking to mitigate flooding risks,” the agency said.

Similarly, on 30 March, Zille made headlines when she snorkelled in a pothole in the suburb of Douglasdale.

“This pool has been here on and off for three years; it’s the result of a burst pipe. It kept bursting again and again. Neighbours can’t get out of their driveways. People have asked councillors to come and fix it. They came and tried to fix it with a front-end loader but burst the pipe again,” she said.

Dada Morero, the City of Johannesburg mayor, visited the site on 31 March, saying Johannesburg Water had begun repairs on the burst pipe on 29 March, with the JRA fixing the hole three days later.