A member of the Al Jama-ah party, he was the ninth executive mayor of the metropolitan municipality since 2016 and is currently deployed as the MMC for community development in the city of johannesburg metro.
After fellow Al Jama-ah councillor Thapelo Amad resigned as mayor of Johannesburg due to pressure from coalition partners, the largest party in council, the African National Congress (ANC), endorsed Gwamanda for the position of mayor on 5 May 2023 in order to keep its alliance with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), another party in council.
[5] The Democratic Alliance (DA) caucus in council has called Gwamanda a "scammer" over allegations that he scammed residents into investing in a funeral/investment scheme through his company iThemba Lama Afrika.
[7] The following day, Gwamanda fell ill during the debate on the State of the City Address and was hospitalised.
[8] On 13 August 2024, after coming under pressure from Al Jama-ah's coalition partner, the ANC,[9] Gwamanda announced his resignation as Johannesburg mayor.