A 4-year-old sinkhole, a zipline and a politician willing to do things differently… that’s the combination currently lighting up social media after Helen Zille’s latest video dropped.
South Africa (28 April 2026) – Helen Zille is going viral again and this time it involves a zipline, a sinkhole and a whole lot of South Africans laughing.
Over the past few months, we’ve been following Helen on her campaign trail through her viral videos that are turning everyday frustrations for Joburgers into something impossible to ignore. From directing traffic at broken robots to snorkelling in water-filled potholes and even rowing through flooded streets, she is leaning into the broken… with a mix of humour and calling things out exactly as they are.
And now, we have a new “episode”.
Late last night, Helen (and her team) posted a video of herself ziplining over a massive sinkhole that has completely blocked a residential driveway. It’s apparently been there for 4 years. While there is another entrance to the complex, the reality is that this is just one of many sinkholes forming in the area… a growing issue that has been left unresolved for far too long.
Within hours, the video started being watched and shared. TikTok garnered over 80,000 views, Facebook surged past 550,000 and Instagram flew beyond 650,000. And of course, the comments added more laughs.
“I thought DA was going to fix the sink hole😂 she just made a zip line 😂”
“Yes, gogo. Give them chest pains.”
“I’m from Botswana. How can I vote for DA cuz I’m sold🤣🤣🤣🤣”
“The content writes itself 😅”
“I like Helen’s videos. So entertaining but has real punch in highlighting the problems and getting the right attention. ANC take note and fix Joburg or surrender to the DA.”
“Gogo keeps on surprising us every day she’s the spider woman today 🤣🤣🤣”
“This is the smartest, wittiest campaigning I’ve seen in a long time!”
We’ve seen it already: the “Gogo Effect” as it’s being affectionaly called. When she climbed into a pothole with a snorkel, a team were sent out the same day to “fix” the burst pipe and fill the area with sand. The pipe burst again a couple of days later but it was her video that got the city to do something. Or at least try to. When she rowed through flooded streets, again, attention turned into action within hours. Her videos are creating change while highlighting challenges that Joburgers have lived with for too long. And they are making us laugh. Together. Laughter is one of our best traits. We know how to laugh at the chaos while still demanding better. We know how to turn frustration into something that connects us. And when that connection starts driving actual change, even in small pockets, it feels like something worth paying attention to.
So now, the big question is… will the “Gogo Effect” strike again? Will that sinkhole, after years of being ignored, suddenly find itself on a repair list today? If the past few weeks are anything to go by, there’s a very real chance it might.
And maybe another question is “what next”? What will Helen do next? We’ve seen many suggestions in the comments of her videos, so we know there will be loads more to come. And we will gladly be reporting on it, after having a good laugh, of course.
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