[5] He also held the roles of Leader of Executive Business in Council and Chairperson of the Governance Cluster when Tau was mayor.

[4] He had held senior leadership roles in the African National Congress's Greater Johannesburg Region.

[6][7][8] On 28 November 2019, the African National Congress announced that it had nominated Makhubo for the position of mayor following the resignation of the Democratic Alliance's Herman Mashaba.

[10] Makhubo entered office under much controversy as he had been accused of gross corruption by both the Economic Freedom Fighters and the Democratic Alliance following a payment of R30 million to his company from Regiments Capital, a firm implicated in the ongoing State Capture inquiries, while he served as Finance MMC.

[13] In May 2021, Makhubo was accused of corruption related to dealings with the company EOH Group as outlined at the Zondo Commission.