Eldorado’s ‘Cookie Lyon’ sends message to ‘haters’ after being voted out

Former Patriotic Alliance (PA) ward councillor Juwairiya Kaldine – who calls herself “Cookie Lyon from Eldorado Park” – has vowed to make a “comeback” after the party was defeated by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in this week’s local government elections. Kaldine has represented Ward 18 since 2021.

PA’s ‘COOKIE LYON’ COUNCILLOR  VOWS TO FIGHT BACK

This week, PA president Gayton McKenzie confirmed that the party had lost its five-year stronghold on Eldorado Park’s Ward 17 and 18, the latter occupied by ward councillor Juwairiya Kaldine.

The ward was defeated by DA’s Fazel Jaffer, who was once a PA member.

The news came as a shock to fans of Kaldine, who is affectionately known as Eldo’s “Cookie Lyon”, named after a fearless female character played by actress Taraji P Henson, on US streaming series Empire.

The 34-year-old has helmed Ward 18 since 2021.

Known for her no-nonsense approach, the PA councillor shared a post on her social media platforms acknowledging her defeat.

She posted: “My comeback will be greater than my setback, may the name ‘Juwairiya Kaldine’ remain in the history books of South African politics, and may it remain in the mouths of all my haters”.

Kaldine, who has bragged about being  “the most talked about ward councillor in South Africa”, made headlines in 2024 over an alleged voice recording accusing the PA of being funded by gangsters and drug peddlers. The allegations were disputed by McKenzie, who claimed that the recordings were “doctored”.

‘ACCEPT DEFEAT GRACIOUSLY’

Meanwhile, Gayton McKenzie has called on PA members to “accept defeat graciously”, after losing wards 17 and 18 in Eldorado Park.

The 51-year-old claimed that he had been “inundated with conspiracy theories and allegations” about the party’s “shocking loss of both wards”.

He shared in a Facebook post: “I hereby wanna make it public that we accept defeat in both wards and wanna congratulate the DA. We should not be sore losers.

“The people made their choice, and instead of blaming the people, we should go and do some introspection. The numbers we had were totally wrong.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR ELDORADO PARK?

Ward 18 in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg, to the DA’s Fazel Jaffer.