Fireworks and Fury: Ntuli Survives No-Confidence Vote after Chaotic Day in KZN Legislature. Picture Credits: Daily News
By Duncan Mnisi
The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature was the scene of loud celebrations and sharp confrontation on Monday after Premier Thami Ntuli survived a motion of no confidence brought by the MK Party.
Outside the legislature, IFP supporters cheered and set off fireworks when the motion failed.
Inside the chamber, tensions were high from the outset. The MK Party and its allies — including members of the EFF who supported the motion — demanded that the vote be conducted by secret ballot, arguing that some members had received threats and would not be able to vote freely in an open process.
Speaker Nontembeko Boyce ruled that the vote would proceed openly. The decision sparked immediate objections, with heated exchanges erupting in the chamber. Several MK and EFF members were at one point ejected for disrupting proceedings.
MK Party chief whip Bonginkosi Mngadi told the House that party members had been threatened and read out one of the alleged messages received. He said a police case had been opened and reiterated the party’s call for a secret ballot to protect MPs. As the debate intensified, MK and EFF members sang and disrupted proceedings in protest.
Speaker Boyce rejected the demand, emphasising the principles of transparency and public accountability in the legislature. After voting concluded, she announced the outcome and confirmed that Ntuli would remain premier.
Her announcement formally ended the sitting, but disorder continued as MPs clashed with security personnel and police were called in to restore order.
The voting process involved counting members by their positions in the chamber: those standing at designated points were counted as supporting the motion, while those who remained seated were counted as opposing it.
The motion failed after members of the governing coalition voted against it, securing Ntuli’s position. “The motion has failed. Honourable Ntuli remains the premier. The House is adjourned,” Boyce said.
The outcome was narrow, and the aftermath chaotic. At least one MK Party member was reportedly injured or collapsed, prompting paramedics to be called.
The MK Party framed the motion as an effort to hold the premier accountable for alleged financial mismanagement and wasteful expenditure by the provincial government. Supporters of Ntuli and parties in the Government of Provincial Unity dismissed the move as political theatre that could destabilise the province.
Political analysts warned that the tight margins in the 80-seat legislature make KwaZulu-Natal especially fragile.
What happens next remains uncertain. The MK Party has indicated it may explore legal or other avenues following the open vote, while tensions between parties in the province remain high. Monday’s mix of fireworks outside and confrontations inside the legislature underscored a deeply divided province — and a delicate political balance that could shift at any moment.
