NFP supporters assemble outside the Edward Hotel in Durban following a disciplinary hearing involving senior party members. Picture Credit: IOL
By Aisha Zardad
Durban – A National Freedom Party (NFP) disciplinary hearing in Durban was disrupted on Wednesday after a physical altercation broke out between senior party officials, an incident that was later captured on video and circulated on social media.
The incident took place at the Edward Hotel, where the party was convened to hear disciplinary charges against senior member Mbali Shinga, a KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC and member of the provincial legislature. Footage from inside the venue shows NFP leader Ivan Barnes and Manqoba Dlamini, chairperson of the party’s uThukela district, involved in a fistfight before police intervened to separate those involved.
Supporters of Shinga reportedly left the building following the altercation, and the disciplinary hearing was subsequently adjourned indefinitely.
The hearing relates to allegations that Shinga failed to comply with party directives by refusing to support a motion of no confidence against KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli. According to the report, the matter has placed strain on the NFP’s position within the KwaZulu-Natal Government of Provincial Unity (GPU).
The party’s national executive committee has indicated that it will withdraw from the GPU should Shinga not be removed as both a member of the provincial legislature and an MEC. Acting NFP secretary-general Sunset Xaba said the party would engage with the ANC and would only return to the coalition if those conditions were met.
