Murunwa Makwarela (born 1972) is a South African politician, genetic engineer, academic and businessman who is the Mayor of Tshwane, in office since 28 February 2023. A member of the Congress of the People, he serves as the party's lone councillor in the municipality. Prior to his election as mayor, he was the council speaker, serving as part of a multi-party coalition led by the Democratic Alliance and other parties. Early life and education Makwarela was born in 1972 in Cullinan outside Pretoria in the then-Transvaal Province of South Africa. He grew up in the village of Tshitereke in the Venda bantustan. Makwarela graduated from the University of Venda in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Botany and Zoology. He subsequently studied at the University of Natal's Durban campus from which he obtained an honours degree in Plant Biotechnology in 1995 followed by a Master of Science in Eucalyptus Genetic Engineering in 1997. He received his doctorate from University of the Witwatersrand in 2006. While completing his doctorate, he did his research at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Institute in Missouri in the United States. Career Makwarela started his career at the University of the Witwatersrand where he worked as a researcher cassava genetic engineering between 2000 and 2005. From 2005 to 2007, he was the first Divisional Head: Gene Banks at the Agricultural Research Council. Makwarela then found employment at the City of Tshwane as the strategic executive director of the municipality's Agriculture and Environmental Management Department between 2007 and 2012. He then proceeded to work for the TAHAL Group as the chief executive officer of the company's South African branch, TAHAL South Africa between 2012 and 2014. Makwarela also served as a non-executive director and as board chairperson of the Biofuel Business Incubator from 2014 to 2019. He was a non-executive director at the SA Essential Oil Business Incubator as well. He served as a non-executive director at the Johannesburg Development Agency as chairperson of the HRREMCO committee from 2020 to 2021 and as a non-executive director at the Johannesburg Market from 2021 to 2022. He is also a co-founder of and chairperson of the Maluti Green Med, a cannabis-licenced pharmaceutical company, based in Lesotho. Political career Makwarela was appointed regional chairperson of the Congress of the People in Tshwane in 2020. He was elected as the party's lone proportional representation councillor in the City of Tshwane