By Celani Sikhakhane
The National Freedom Party’s (NFP) provincial elective conference, set for Saturday in Newcastle, is being blocked by the former mayor of the Nongoma Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
Jeremiah Mavundla lodged an application for an interdict on Friday at the Pietermaritzburg High Court. He alleges that the leaders orchestrating the conference had been previously dismissed from the party.
Mavundla’s justification for the interdict revolves around his current role as acting president of the NFP, a position he claims to have assumed following Zanele kaMagwaza Msibi’s passing.
Mavundla’s faction is not recognised by the IEC. Indeed, none of the NFP structures are recognised by the IEC, which banned the party from contesting elections after the 2021 local government poll. In 2022, the IEC ordered the party to convene an elective conference to elect a proper structure that can communicate with the electoral commission.
The order was handed down to the party’s interim structure, which Mavundla belongs to. This means that he is challenging his own colleagues who are also part of the structure.
Represented by attorney Sandia Bharath, Mavundla says the individuals organising the elective conference have no authority to organise NFP events.
Leaders named in the legal dispute include prominent NFP representatives, among them Mbali Shinga of the KZN legislature, Teddy Thwala, NFP’s researcher at the legislature, Mzwakhe Sibisi, an NFP MP, and Sizwe Hadebe, an NFP councillor from the Zululand district municipality.
The Pietermaritzburg Court is expected to give its decision on this matter by Wednesday.
Thwala said the group’s intent is to contest the interdict.
“We are actively collaborating with our legal team to counteract this interdict by Wednesday.
“I can confirm that our conference will proceed as planned this upcoming Saturday at the Natu Centre in Newcastle. Following this, our preparations for the national elective conference in December will persist,” commented Thwala.
The NFP’s internal dynamics have been rife with dissension since 2014, triggered by the hospitalisation of their late president, Zanele kaMagwaza Msibi.
Factionalism has dominated the party’s narrative, leading to notable leaders migrating to other political entities like the ANC, EFF, DA, IFP, UDM, and ATM.
It’s worth noting that the NFP’s last elective conference took place in December 2011, subsequent to its inception in February of that year as an offshoot of the IFP.
Pictured above: NFP acting president Jeremiah Mavundla
Image source: Supplied
