Following the failed December 15 bid to oust the KwaZulu-Natal government—as detailed in the first article of this series—the National Freedom Party (NFP) held a January 9 press conference in Durban. Leaders clarified their opposition stance, suspended defiant MPL Mbali Shinga, and highlighted grievances against GPU partners amid ongoing coalition tensions.
Leaders of the National Freedom Party (NFP), a key kingmaker in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) with slim but pivotal electoral support, gathered for a two-hour press conference in Durban on January 9. This came after their December 15 alignment with uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) failed to topple the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), thwarted by NFP MPL Mbali Shinga's refusal to defect.
Party president Ivan Barnes reasserted control, stating, “We will remain in opposition until we are re-engaged by parties that want to govern KZN. We will not sell our souls this time around.” He denied any governance deal with MK and EFF, and announced Shinga's three-month suspension pending a disciplinary hearing, after she defied orders to leave the IFP-ANC-DA-led GPU, where she serves as social development MEC.
Barnes listed GPU grievances: poaching of NFP councillors in Zululand by IFP and ANC, leadership exclusions, and departmental corruption. “Our GPU partners were shaking our hands in Pietermaritzburg and stabbing us in our backs in Zululand councils […] and we gave these people the premiership,” he said. Acting secretary-general Sunset Xaba accused the GPU of serving 'white monopoly capital' as “a dictatorship with a smile.” Deputy secretary Zethembe Ngobese emphasized the party's influence despite limited votes.
Reactions included ANC's Mike Mabuyakhulu pledging talks, DA's Francois Rogers criticizing Barnes as a 'horse-trader,' and anonymous GPU calls for stability. Shinga affirmed she would stay in the legislature. Barnes indicated openness to ANC meetings for stable governance, as opportunism accusations fly from all sides.
This development underscores the NFP's factional tensions and outsized role in KZN's volatile politics, managing a R150-billion budget.