‘Hlabisa stays. Buthelezi chose him’

The calls from some quarters of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) to have party president Velenkosini Hlabisa remain uncontested have set the tone for what is expected to be a bruising elective conference. Gauteng provincial chairperson Bonginkosi Dhlamini ignited the debate when he said that removing Hlabisa from power would amount to challenging the party’s long-standing legacy. Such a move, he said, was tantamount to insulting the wisdom of the late party founder, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

“Prince Mangosuthu did not say: ‘I’m thinking of leaving you with Hlabisa.’ He said: ‘This is the president, I’m leaving you with no one else,’” Dhlamini said during the funeral service of IFP activist Thokozani Mkhize. 

“We are talking about the legacy. If you challenge the legacy, you merely mean Buthelezi was not thinking properly. The IFP’s legacy says the leader will be in power until he decides to voluntarily step down.” 

Dhlamini did not mince his words when he suggested Hlabisa should retain his position before the crucial party conference — the IFP’s first since the death of president emeritus Buthelezi in September 2023.

“The problem we’re dealing with as the IFP is people feel there is something wrong when we call Hlabisa our president,” he said. “They have not healed from the
2019 conference.” 

Dhlamini’s comments have brought to light the behind-the-scenes jostling between party factions, with some pushing for Hlabisa to stay on as president while his detractors are calling for change.

Hlabisa was anointed by Buthelezi to succeed him in 2019 after the party founder had led the IFP since its formation in 1975. 

Despite growing calls for him to step down, Hlabisa’s leadership was largely shielded by Buthelezi. 

He now faces a real test without the figure of the party founder looming large.

Hlabisa, who is also the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta), was given the nod although Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi, the minister of public service and administration, was serving as Buthelezi’s deputy at the time.

The decision led to murmurings in the party between sympathisers of Hlabisa and supporters of Buthelezi, an inkosi of the eMbongombongweni tribal authority in uPhongolo.

Although Hlabisa’s term of office has expired, the party has delayed its elective conference to a date that has yet to be announced. 

Some party members believe the postponement was an attempt to avoid tension that could affect the IFP before the municipal elections.

On the other hand, Otto Kunene, a long-standing IFP leader and member of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, said Dhlamini was distorting facts when he said it was the party’s legacy not to contest the president.

“There is no such thing in the IFP. It was us, members of the IFP in various conferences, who requested that uMntwana (Buthelezi) should stay on as president. Mr Dhlamini was part of these conferences. 

“At the time, the party was facing severe division following the formation of the NFP [National Freedom Party]. So what he is saying is not true,” Kunene said.

Mkhuleko Hlengwa, the IFP spokesperson, said a date had not been set for the conference. “We will make announcements when we’re ready,” he told the Mail & Guardian.

On whether Dhlamini’s assertion that Hlabisa should not be contested could be viewed as stifling internal democracy, Hlengwa said: “The party is united, strong and on a growth trajectory.”

While Hlabisa was initially expected to square off with Thamsanqa Ntuli for the party presidency, Ntuli has announced that he will not be contesting the position. 

It has since emerged on various party platforms that his faction has placed him as deputy president in a slate led by Buthelezi as president.

Hlabisa appears to remain the strongest contender, with his faction controlling the narrative and using public platforms to build support for his re-election.

Cracks and deepening divisions also played out at the weekend during the IFP’s 51-year anniversary celebration in Bethal, Mpumalanga.

Senior party leaders such as Ntuli, KwaZulu-Natal Cogta MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi and Xolani Ngwezi did not attend. The trio are considered strong backers of Buthelezi.

Ngwezi, the mayor of the City of uMhlathuze in Richards Bay on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, is among the influential voices within the party. He is tipped to go head-to-head with Michael Khumalo, a key Hlabisa ally, for the provincial chairmanship. Khumalo is also the mayor of the Zululand district.

During the gathering, Hlabisa singled out Khumalo, saying he had masterminded consecutive by-election victories for the IFP in the Zululand region, where the party had previously lost ground — a clear indication that he is being considered for a senior party post.