Straight From Mansfield's Mouth

JEREMY MANSFIELD has announced he’s standing as a potential candidate for the DA.

- Vanessa Papas

From bribery and corruption to protests, scandals, shock resignations, the Guptas, the State of Capture Report, and, of course, the Pravin Gordhan versus NPA versus Hawks debacle, 2016 was an intense year on South Africa’s political scene. It’s also the year one of South Africa’s most well-known personalities, Jeremy Mansfield, announced his big plan to stand as a potential candidate for the Democratic Alliance (DA) in 2019.

The announcement has been met with mixed reviews. Some are in full support of Mansfield’s decision, others not so much. We managed to pin down this colourful character with a larger-than life personality and chat to him about why he wants to enter the world of politics, what his plans for change in our country are, and what he hopes to bring to the table.

You grew up during the height of Apartheid. What do you remember most about the state of our country as a child and young adult?

I still remember the 21h00 siren going off at night. It meant that any black person had to be out of town and in the ‘lokshin’ in Grahamstown unless they had an employer’s letter. I never understood that regulation and to this day I believe it is a reason I fought every media regulation while I was on air. I have the distinction of having more complaints listed against me than the entire broadcast industry in a year!

When was the first time you met Nelson Mandela and what was the experience like for you?