IFP KZN Chairperson Thami Ntuli Roasts MK Party During By-Election Campaign

• The Inkatha Freedom Fighters (IFP) and the MK Party will make a final ush to attempt voters to vote for them in Mandeni, KwaZulu-Natal
• A by-election will be held to determine who will govern the municipality, and the IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa and the party's provincial chairperson Thami Ntuli was present
• Ntuli roasted the MK Party and said voters should not be deceived as it is a rebranded version of the African National Congress

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, has covered policy changes, cabinet reshuffles, the State of the Nation Address, Parliament and Parliamentary committees, politician-related news and elections at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for over seven years.

MANDENI, KWAZULU-NATAL — Thami Ntuli, the KwaZulu-Natal chairperson of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), roasted the MK Party during a final bid to convince voters to vote for the party in Mandeni ahead of a municipal by-election on 30 April 2025.

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What did Ntuli say?

Ntuli joined the party's president Velenkosini Hlabisa to campaign in the municipality. Ntuli said that the MK Party merely rebranded itself after its split from the ANC, saying voters should not be duped by the party.

He also said that the only thing that changed was the colours of the party. He alleged that the Guptas are still in charge of the MK Party. Hlabisa said the community would liberate itself by voting for them to have listening leadership and get services. The MK Party also campaigned in the area and invited actor Sibongile Ngubane and Duduzane Zuma to support the party's candidate publicly.

Previous municipal by-elections

• In January 2025, the Democratic Alliance claimed victory in ward elections for the Mantsopa Municipality in the Western Cape
• The MK Party took 28% of the votes for the Pongola Municipality in February 2024, making it the official opposition with 687 votes against the IFP's 890 votes
• The African National Congress won the ward 2 by-elections in Msunduzi in the province in December, defeating the MK Party

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South Africans weigh in

Netizens commenting on Sunday World's Facebook post shared their views.

Linda Pretorius said:

"Both are busy going down. Good."

Richard Mandulo said:

"I am not in KZN , but I would like to know if there is anyone who is still voting for the IFP after all its scandals."

Magoshu Selala said:

"The IFP is slowly dying."

Mathwasa BVilakazi said:

"Mkhonto weSizwe, hurry and come save us from these thugs."

MK Party wins by-elections in Western Cape

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the MK Party won a municipal by-election in Saldanha Bay in March 2025. The party beat the ANC and Patriotic Alliance to secure their first win in the province.

The by-election took place on 20 March and this was its first victory in the province. It was also the second time the ANC lost out to the MK Party in a 2eek, having had lost a key ward to the official opposition in the Richmond Municipality.

Source: Briefly News