Claremont teen elected as Cape Town's new junior mayor

Cedar House High School’s Michael-Daniel Bam was elected as the new junior executive mayor in an election held earlier this month.

Michael-Daniel, 16, from Claremont, was elected from 50 members of the Junior Council.

Bishops pupil Matthew Kriel was elected as junior deputy mayor, Good Hope Seminary High School’s Mizero Hope Munyandekwe was elected as junior speaker and Curro Delft’s Luniko Nokhepeyi as junior chief whip.

Custodian of the Junior City Council (JCC), Councillor Donovan Nelson says this election follows a month of spirited internal campaigning, where junior councillors articulated their visions for the JCC, outlining the initiatives they plan to champion and the legacy they aim to build as ethical, community-focused leaders.

“This is my fourth year as the custodian, and it is incredible to see how far we have come. It inspires me to hear these young leaders share their vision for our City and their desire to play an active role.”

Michael-Daniel says he has had a passion for serving the community since he was 8 years old when he did volunteer work at the League of Friends of the Blind (LOFOB) in Grassy Park.

“I ran my first ever project, a holiday club for kids at my school to raise funds for the organisation. That experience opened my eyes, not only to the realities many people face but also to the power of showing up for others,” he says.

He says joining the JCC felt like a natural next step in his journey that began with a simple act of compassion. “It's a way to continue using my voice and now the platform of this position will help to challenge inequality and bring real, youth-led change to Cape Town,” he says.

He added, “I am excited to be elected, I feel the weight of the responsibility, and I’m ready to carry it. I look forward to being a strong voice for the youth in the halls of local government,” he says.

Michael-Daniel also runs the Michael-Daniel Bam Foundation, a registered non-profit company focused on uplifting communities and closing the socio-economic divide. 

He is in Grade 10 and says he is still deciding on whether to pursue tertiary studies in politics or medicine.

Joining Michael-Daniel in the JCC leadership will be Matthew, 16, who is in Grade 11 and staying in the boarding house at Bishops. Matthew says it is humbling to be elected as junior deputy mayor.

“I don’t see this as its title, rather more as an encouragement to better the lives of others through servant leadership,” he says.

As a Bishops pupil, Matthew has being involved in various extra-curricular activities like playing squash, cricket and he is a member of the South African Relations Society at the school.

Last year he was part of a pupil exchange programme, where he was hosted by a family in Philadelphia in the United States of America, and attended The Episcopal Academy.

“It was an incredible experience and pretty much life-changing for me, in that I got to experience how people live outside of the country and it took me out of my comfort zone and hence gave me the courage and confidence to apply for something on the City Council,” he says.

Matthew plans on studying medicine or law when he finishes school.