The stunt that landed Helen Zille on the front page of People magazine in America and forced her to have a tetanus shot
DA mayoral candidate in Johannesburg, Helen Zille, shared details about the iconic stunt where she swam in a large pothole in Douglasdale.
She told Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh on the SMWX podcast that the stunt was unplanned but turned out to be highly effective.
On Saturday, March 28 2026, Zille received a call reporting a massive pothole forming in Douglasdale that was preventing people from leaving their complexes.
“I said, let’s swing by. We were in the neighbourhood, so we stopped by. I got out, looked at it, and said that the hole was big enough to swim in,” Zille said.
“There was a lady standing at the end of her driveway who asked why I don’t swim in. However, I could not, because I was in normal clothing.”
She told Zille that she had a wetsuit, and Zille went to her house even though she had not met her before.
“I squeezed into her wetsuit. She was a very petite lady, so I don’t think her wetsuit has ever recovered, but I squeezed my way in,” she said.
“Then she gave me a pink bathing cap and a green snorkel, and I was on my way. I got into the pothole, and it was great fun.”
She posted a few funny messages on social media along with the images, without ever directly mentioning the problem with potholes and sinkholes.
“This is one of Joburg’s many public swimming facilities. No opening hours and no maintenance plan, yet somehow, it keeps expanding,” she said.
“I’ve seen the calls for me to enter the Commonwealth Games this year. My team and I will certainly give it some thought.”
“In the meantime, I’ll be training right here in Johannesburg, with all the new pools opening up across the city every week.”
Helen Zille’s stunt made headlines internationally
The stunt gained strong traction on social media in South Africa and made headlines in top publications. It even hit international media outlets.
“I thought it would make waves, but I never expected to end up on the front page of People magazine in America alongside Meghan Markle and Kim Kardashian,” she said.
“I was even in the newspapers in Italy. It went all over the world. It was completely crazy and done on the spur of the moment.”
However, it did not come without risks. Her assistant had to pull her out because the edges of the pothole had jagged tar, and the sand underneath was soft.
“He had to pull me up with all his strength, but because the tar edges were so sharp, I scraped my legs and started bleeding,” she said.
Zille and her team decided it was best to get an anti-tetanus shot since she had no idea what was in that water.
“I went to the emergency room, and the delightful doctor looked at me and asked what I had been doing,” she said.
“I looked at her with a completely straight face and said I’ve been swimming in a pothole. She looked at me as if I had completely lost my mind.”
Zille said the doctor gave her the anti-tetanus shot, and after that she was fine, and everything ended well.
Helen Zille’s pothole stunt
Loading ...