The National Freedom Party (NFP), the once kingmaker party in KwaZulu-Natal, appears to be on the ropes as the November 4 elections approach with an exodus of party members to the IFP and a bitter divide between the party's president and key leadership in KZN.
In 2024, the party's solitary seat in the KZN legislature crowned it kingmaker in the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU). Yet two years later and as the November 4 elections loom, the NFP is not campaigning from a position of power. Instead, it finds itself dealing with internal strife and the exit of members to other parties.
Founded in 2011 by the late Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi, the NFP was a disruptive splinter from the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). It did well in northern KZN, rapidly securing municipal dominance in the Zululand District. But after kaMagwaza-Msibi’s ill health and the subsequent administrative bungling that locked the party out of the 2016 local elections, the NFP appeared to have run its course.
However there was a resurgence in the 2019 and 2021 polls which seemed to signal a stabilisation, culminating in the 2024 GPU negotiations where it traded its pivotal seat for the provincial Social Development MEC portfolio, which was awarded to provincial chairperson Mbali Shinga.
This should have been the NFP’s anchor, a political analyst has argued. He said the party should have elevated its profile using the Social Development portfolio as a standpoint.
But divisions began to show between party president Ivan Barnes and Shinga. Matters came to a head when Barnes instructed Shinga to vote alongside the opposition, including the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, to oust Premier Thami Ntuli in a motion of no confidence last year. When Shinga refused, she was expelled. Shinga subsequently took the party to court and won - she insists that she is still a party member and the provincial chair.
“The party is in this crisis because of poor leadership,” commented Professor Musa Xulu, a KZN-based political analyst who views the party's demise as virtually guaranteed.
“Barnes was supposed to leverage the platform created by the Social Development department to benefit the party politically. Had he realised its lifeblood was in KwaZulu-Natal, he should have handled his differences with the provincial leadership better.”
Xulu made an example of smaller parties like Patriotic Alliance in the Government of National Unity which he said took full advantage of one ministerial position and made it to benefit it politically.
“Look at Gayton McKenzie today; through his ministerial position, he is known nationally and internationally, and people will always associate him with his party more than just a Sport, Arts and Culture Minister,” concluded Xulu.
The fallout has been immediate. Last week, an exodus of roughly 200 high-profile Shinga loyalists including influential national chairperson Shevu Mkhabela and councillors defected back to the IFP. Others in the uThukela district, which includes Ladysmith, have splintered off to form a new localised movement.
In a candid assessment, Shinga admitted on Monday that the NFP is in "serious political and organisational trouble." She called for the party to regroup and focus on election planning.
“The immediate task is to restore constitutional governance throughout the organisation, recognise the proper functions of elected structures, protect the participatory rights of ordinary members and place the entire party on a serious election footing.”
Asked about the issues facing the party, Secretary-General Sunset Xaba dismissed them as a mere distraction, promising that the party will contest all wards in KZN and districts in six other provinces.
“Those who have written our obituary must come out after November 4 and repeat the same words,” Xaba retorted.
He added that the matter regarding Shinga would be heard in court on September 9 and thereafter the party would disclose its election programme to the media.
willem.phungula@nationalmg.co.za