By Celani Sikhakhane
The newly-appointed mayor of Nongoma caused a commotion on Friday when he spent the whole night with his family spinning state vehicles, their blue lights flashing all over the place.
Mshangane Ndabandaba of the National Freedom Party was celebrating his election as the new mayor of the local municipality after he turned against IFP veteran politician Albert Mngcwango and toppled him from the mayor’s seat.
Ndabandaba’s family were screaming and ululating while partying it up in the municipality’s Toyota Prado and Toyota Fortuner.
One of the residents said they didn’t sleep until the early hours of Saturday morning because of the celebrations and singing.
“At first I thought he had bought the vehicles but I realised later that they were municipal vehicles because they were driven by bodyguards. They kept flashing blue lights and hooting,” he said.
Another neighbour told Scrolla.Africa: “I won’t lie. We had fun.”
The trend of KwaZulu-Natal politicians and their families celebrating their access to state assets began in 2017 when former IFP Nquthu mayor Mabilabila Kunene took the mayoral chain to his family kraal and reported to the ancestors that he had become mayor, showing them the chain.
He even slaughtered a cow to ensure that the ancestors celebrated with him, his family members and the community.
In 2021, then UMhlathuze mayor Dr Nkosiyakhe Donda of the IFP also set social media abuzz when he took his municipal BMW convoy, accompanied by City of uMhlathuze police cars flashing blue lights, straight to the local clinic. It was a surprise visit to his wife who worked at the clinic as a nurse and he drove there to show her that he had been elected as mayor. They celebrated with his wife’s colleagues.
Ndabandaba’s celebration comes after turmoil that erupted on Friday morning during the council session that affirmed him as new Nongoma mayor, along with new ANC Speaker Babongile Sithole and EFF Deputy Mayor Themba Nkosi.
The meeting started with a standoff between the police and some councillors who wanted to make their way to the council chamber but were blocked. Pictured above: New Nongoma mayor Mshangane Ndabandaba
Image source: Supplied
