IFP and ANC to Divorce After 1-Day "Marriage of Convenience" Under Umvoti Municipality

• The IFP in the Umvoti Municipality have been called to order after forging an illegal alliance with the ANC
• This coalition was formed in order to remove Abantu Batho Congress mayor Philani Mavundla from his seat
• Speaking to Briefly News, ousted mayor Philani Mavundla said that the sitting of the meeting was illegal and he remains mayor

UMVOTI - The IFP in a KZN municipality has been left red-faced after their surprise coalition with the ANC to oust ABC mayor Philani Mavundla was rejected by their national office.

On Tuesday, East Coast Radio reported that the Umvoti Municipality saw the ousting of their mayor and speaker through a vote of no confidence supported by IFP and ANC councillors in that municipality. This unlikely union saw the return of IFP Mayor Gabriel Malembe.

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This move came as a surprise to many, given the decades-long icy relationship between the IFP and ANC. Addressing this situation in an interview on Morning Live, IFP president VF Hlabisa said that the IFP councillors in the Umvoti Municipality were not operating under the instructions of the national structure. He called for the immediate resignation of the newly-elected mayor on Facebook and stressed that the IFP will never work with the ANC under any circumstances.

Hlabisa went on to add that the IFP would also not be pursuing any coalitions with the MK party to govern KwaZulu Natal.

Mavundla addresses his removal

Meanwhile, the ousted Mayor Philani Mavundla has addressed his removal. Speaking to Briefly News, Mavundla explained that the meeting was illegal because he obtained a court order that interdicted the sitting.

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"We are aware that the COGTA deployee was given the order to remove Mavundla and Masondo (the speaker) at all costs and that is what he did, regardless of the prevailing circumstances."

He added that he remains Mayor of Umvoti Municipality.

ABC party calls for independent Zulu state

Briefly News previously reported that the ABC political party caused a stir after declaring that they would advocate for an independent Zulu state should they be elected.

This call would mean that the KwaZulu Natal province would be separated from the rest of South Africa and be ruled under a new government.

Source: Briefly News