The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in KwaZulu-Natal has vowed to reclaim Nongoma Local Municipality from the ANC/EFF/NFP coalition in the next year’s local government elections.
The party leadership, led by its president Velenkosini Hlabisa, welcomed close to 1 000 members who the party claimed had defected from other political parties on Sunday. The party used the welcoming to celebrate Freedom Day, which marked 31 years of democracy in South Africa.
Speaking at the event, the party’s national deputy secretary-general Mangaqa Mncwango said with many members of the various parties joining the IFP in big numbers daily in Nongoma, his party was already preparing to govern Nongoma Local Municipality after next year’s local government elections.
Mncwango, former mayor of Nongoma, said many people are questioning the rationale of a judiciary that allowed the mayor, his deputy, and the Speaker to return to the ‘crime scene’ after being granted bail for allegedly stealing the municipality’s funds.
“People no longer trust this coalition of corruption that is running Nongoma municipality, which is why they are joining the IFP in big numbers. We will reclaim our municipality in the next year’s local elections, and we will govern without a coalition,” said Mncwango.
He claimed that everyone was caught off guard because the magistrate did not see the need to impose the customary restrictions that the suspects should not be permitted to be near the municipality until their case was finalised when he granted bail to Mayor Mshangane Ndabandaba, his deputy Sabelo Nkosi, and Speaker Babongile Sithole.
Mncwango added that the court’s decision to allow the three suspects accused of stealing municipality funds to come back and preside over the remaining funds was similar to sending back the murder suspects to the crime scene to destroy the evidence.
Among the members welcomed by the IFP was Nkosi, who was forced to resign by his party, EFF, because of his alleged involvement in corruption which saw him being arrested alongside the mayor and Speaker last year. The trio was released on R5 000 bail each after spending several days in custody, however, they were allowed back to their positions. They face corruption charges.
When no party received enough votes to govern Nongoma alone and Mncwango was elected mayor, the EFF joined forces with the IFP to co-govern the city following the local government elections in 2021.
However, in 2023, the EFF turned against the IFP, forming a coalition with the ANC and NFP to seize control of the province’s hung municipalities, including Nongoma.
The municipality, which is in the north of KwaZulu-Natal, has been an IFP stronghold for decades until the late former IFP chairperson, Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi, broke away and founded the National Freedom Party (NFP) and won Nongoma in 2011.
willem.phungula@inl.co.za
