Durban — The crisis-plagued National Freedom Party (NFP) is lurching from one power struggle to the next with a new turn of events almost weekly, placing the party’s senior leaders at loggerheads.
As the top brass continue to slug it out, the 15 leaders – including eThekwini Deputy Mayor Zandile Myeni – who were served with letters of intention to suspend them have now launched a counter-attack against party leader, Ivan Barnes.
The leaders have asked Barnes to withdraw the letters he sent to them last week or they would take the battle to the courts.
The NFP, a key member of the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) in KwaZulu-Natal has been locked in a long-running leadership battle which deepened following the elective conference in December.
Tensions between party leaders continue to boil as battle lines are drawn with Barnes on one side and the 15 leaders on the other.
In their letter, seen by the Daily News from TI Mbili Attorneys, the 15 leaders said Barnes had no powers to suspend them, claiming that his status as party leader was being legally contested.
The letter to Barnes read: “ … should our clients approach the court, punitive costs will be sought against you as you are acting unlawfully.
“Our clients are National Freedom Party members in good standing. Some are political office bearers in respective municipal councils and some are officials serving in various designated positions of the party, nationally and provincially. They are exercising their constitutional rights in terms of section 18 and 19 of the Constitution.”
What infuriated Barnes, according to insiders, was that some party councillors in the Zululand District Municipality, allegedly plotted with the IFP to block Barnes from becoming the mayor of the northern KwaZulu-Natal municipality.
There was speculation after the elections that Barnes wanted to don the mayoral chain of the Zululand District Municipality in return for supporting the IFP-led GPU in KZN, which failed to get an outright winner in the May elections.
The NFP with its single seats became a kingmaker when KZN was a hung province after the elections.
NFP deputy president Milton Sokhela had previously said the decision to deploy Barnes as the mayor of Zululand District Municipality was a collective one by the national executive committee (NEC).
When Barnes’s path to the mayoral seat in Zululand District Municipality was allegedly legally blocked by party councillors, he wrote to 15 leaders including councillors last week, asking why they should not be suspended. In retaliation, the leaders ganged up and are now threatening him with legal action.
Secretary-general Teddy Thwala and Nongoma Mayor Clifford Ndabandaba were among the leaders – alongside Myeni. Party councillors deemed Barnes’s internal nemeses were also served with letters.
Last week, Barnes confirmed to the Daily News that Thwala was not a legitimate secretary-general of the party. This was after Thwala openly accused Barnes in a media statement of using the party to elevate his fledgling political career. Thwala said it was untoward for Barnes to position himself to become the mayor of Zululand using the single seat the NFP had in the legislature, with 80 seats as political leverage.
This angered Barnes and all hell broke loose, and now the IFP splinter party formed by Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi is torn between warring factions.
Thwala declined to comment; Myeni could not be reached and did not respond to messages. Barnes was repeatedly called and messaged for comment, but he did not respond.
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Daily News