'Mpama': ANC Councillor Gets Punched by EFF Member As Richards Bay Sitting Erupts

• Violent scenes erupted during a mayoral election sitting in the uMhlathuze Local Municipality in Richards Bay
• The fight reportedly broke out between councillors of the EFF and the ANC before the election of the new mayor
• South Africans have reacted to a video of the incident, which has since gone viral on social media

RICHARDS BAY - A mayoral election gathering was cast into chaos amid a fistfight by two rival party members in the uMhlathuze Local Municipality in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday.

TimesLIVE reported that the brawl shows an unidentified Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) councillor landing two successive blows to the face of an unidentified counterpart belonging to the African National Congress (ANC).

A video capturing the incident, shared by isiZulu news channel 1KZN TV, has gone viral on social media, garnering more than 29 000 views since it was first published more than a day ago.

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The fight reportedly broke out before the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)'s Nkonzoyakhe Donda was elected mayor, while the EFF's Nkululeko Ngubane was sworn in as the deputy mayor.

Briefly News understands IFP councillor Tobias Gumede secured the role of council speaker in the IFP-led coalition.

The South African reported that the IFP's about-turn on Monday is likely to have far-reaching consequences, with the ANC having abstained from the vote which would have seen a new IFP mayor being elected.

The fight appears to have been about which party should lead one of the key economic hubs in KZN following the recent souring in relations.

Reports on the ground suggest Nhlakanipho Ntombela, the ANC KZN spokesperson, accused the IFP of malice.

The finger-pointing boiled over when the IFP's provincial chair Thamsanqa Ntuli said the ruling party was to blame after it went back on its coalition promise.

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South Africans react to the scenes

Briefly News notes the reactions from social media users to the astonishing developments below.

@ChueneKhathu wrote:

"We must just respect people, not considering their literacy level. I blame apartheid."

@RussMcGiant said:

"And then the law will take its cause and they will blame WMC."

@juno_tommy added:

"@EFFSouthAfrica at it again. This is how they intend to govern the country."

New Tshwane mayor urges parties to simply 'bury the hatchet'

In news elsewhere, Briefly News recently reported that the reality of the ANC's astonishing tumble from power sinks in, the Democratic Alliance (DA) is gearing up for five years of governance in the Tshwane metro.

This has seen the City of Tshwane's newly elected executive mayor Randall Williams putting forward some solemn pleas to those who would care to listen.

Briefly News understands Williams was re-elected unopposed, while the DA’s Katlego Mathebe, who was also unopposed, retained his office as speaker.

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The former has called for political parties to put their differences aside to ensure adequate services are rendered to citizens.

SABC News reported that the ANC wavered its option to submit its candidate for the mayoral position, with Tshwane having been among the many hung municipalities across the country.

Source: Briefly News