KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC Mbali Shinga is expected to miss Thursday’s sitting after a High Court ruling directed the provincial legislature to replace her, although her lawyer says she will appeal.
The National Freedom Party is set to have its president, Ivan Barnes, sworn in as its representative in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature after a bruising battle to remove expelled member Mbali Shinga.
The NFP was successful in an application brought in the Pietermaritzburg High Court against Shinga and the Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, Nontembeko Boyce.
In a ruling handed down on Tuesday, 15 September, Judge Bongani Mngadi ordered the Speaker to declare the NFP’s seat vacant and take all necessary steps to swear in its new candidate.
Shinga to appeal
The court also dismissed a counter-application by Shinga, in which she sought interim relief pending the finalisation of a review application challenging the internal appeal processes that led to her expulsion.
Shinga’s attorney, Sithembiso Mbhele, told The National on Wednesday that he had received instructions from his client to appeal the judgment.
Mbhele acknowledged that his client had lost her seat as a result of the judgment. However, he said that once the appeal was filed, she would return to her office because the decision had to be held in abeyance pending the outcome of the appeal.
“We are busy with appeal papers and will file them soon, so we are not very much concerned about this judgment and all our arguments will be ventilated in the Supreme Court of Appeal,” Mbhele said.
The Speaker’s spokesperson, Nomusa Phungula, confirmed that Boyce had accepted the court ruling and notified Shinga that her seat had been declared vacant.
“The Speaker has informed the member, and as per the standing rules the Speaker must facilitate the swearing-in of a new member, a proposed date has been sent to the party in a letter,” said Phungula.
She also confirmed that Shinga would not be allowed to attend the Legislature sitting on Thursday unless the Speaker was compelled by a court order to halt the swearing-in proceedings.
The Speaker proposed that the NFP’s new member be sworn in next. The NFP’s secretary-general said the party had welcomed the judgment and had chosen 22 September for Barnes’s swearing-in.
Speaker’s handling of matter criticised
In the judgment, Mngadi criticised the Speaker’s handling of the matter, saying she had involved herself in a dispute to which she was not a party.
After the NFP’s internal appeal was dismissed in July, the party wrote to the Speaker asking her to declare the seat vacant and arrange for Barnes’s swearing-in.
However, Boyce said she had received contradictory accounts from the NFP and Shinga about whether a valid appeal had taken place. She said she could not determine the position with certainty and therefore maintained the status quo.
Judge Mngadi ruled that this was incorrect as the interim order expired once the NWC made its deicison in July.
“The Speaker by her decision flouts the order made by Siwendu J in that her decision has the effect of extending that order beyond its terms. She placed the applicant, a political party in a situation where it could be undermined by its members. This is likely to create chaos in the affairs of political parties and promote ill-discipline,” Judge Mngadi ruled.
He further said that whether the appeal had been properly convened, whether members who were not supposed to attend had participated, whether the committee had acted correctly in dealing with the appeal, and whether it had properly deliberated on the matter were issues for determination by the review court.
Dispute timeline
- December 2025: Shinga, then Social Development MEC, was instructed by the NFP to support a motion of no confidence in Premier Thami Ntuli. She defied the party’s instruction.
- April 2026: An NFP disciplinary committee found Shinga, who also served as the party’s KwaZulu-Natal provincial chairperson, guilty of gross insubordination and recommended her expulsion.
- May 2026: Shinga appealed the disciplinary finding internally, but her appeal was dismissed and she was expelled.
- June 2026: Shinga brought an urgent court application for interim relief against the NFP and the Speaker, seeking to suspend her expulsion pending the exhaustion of her internal appeal and a review. Judge Namhla Thina Siwendu granted interim relief halting her expulsion.
- June 2026: The NFP’s National Executive Committee resolved that Shinga’s appeal would be heard by the National Working Committee.
- July 2026: The National Working Committee heard and dismissed the appeal, confirming Shinga’s expulsion. Shinga argued that the committee was not properly constituted and had not dealt with her grounds of appeal. The Speaker declined to take further action, saying there were contradictory statements about whether the appeal had been handled fairly.
- September 2026: The NFP challenged the Speaker’s decision in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
Political implications
Shinga’s removal could trigger changes in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, with the uMkhonto weSizwe Party expected to push for a fresh motion of no confidence in Premier Ntuli.
The NFP had already struck a deal to work with the opposition and supported the MK Party’s failed motion in December.
The 80-seat Legislature comprises 37 MK Party members, 15 from the IFP, 14 from the ANC, 11 from the DA, two from the EFF and one from the NFP.
If the NFP aligns with the MK Party and the EFF, those parties would hold 40 seats. The GPU parties would also hold 40 seats triggering a tie unless there are agreements to form a new coalition.
willem.phungula@nationalmg.co.za