KZN Premier Vote of No Confidence Descends Into Chaos As Police Called In to Disperse Angry Members

• Thami Ntuli survived a Motion of No Confidence vote in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature sitting in Pietermaritzburg
• The sitting for the vote turned into chaos as uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party members protested the decision
• The two members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) also joined in on disruptions, which resulted in police intervention

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

KWAZULU-NATAL – The Inkatha Freedom Party’s Thami Ntuli remains the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) after a chaotic sitting of the KZN Legislature.

The Premier faced a Motion of No Confidence, which was brought forward by the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party. After the speaker decided to deny the MK Party’s request for a secret ballot, chaos erupted in the gallery as some members refused to sit down and vote. Members of the MK Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) began singing and dancing in the gallery, disrupting proceedings.

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Vote goes ahead amid chaotic scenes

With the members refusing to sit down and go ahead with the vote, the speaker, Nontembeko Nothemba Boyce, ruled that the voting would go ahead by another method. She ruled that all those who were sitting were against the motion, while all those standing supported it.

MKP and EFF members were not happy with that ruling and protested as the counting was done. It was then ruled that they did not get enough votes for the motion to pass, and Ntuli remained Premier.

Chaos erupted in the gallery following the ruling, as members of the opposition refused to back down and allow the proceedings to be adjourned. Some MK Party members got in the premier’s face, pointing fingers and hurling insults.

Speaker surrounded as police called in to assist

The chaos continued as members of the MK Party and the two EFF members prevented the speaker from leaving the gallery. They surrounded her, with some even shoving her, as police were called in to intervene.

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MK Party members also blocked police from removing them, with some even assaulting officers during a scuffle. One member, who was on the floor of the gallery, was dragged out by police as he refused to leave.

Others threw water bottles and water at the officers as they attempted to remove the angry members. Officers eventually were able to remove members from the legislature, as calm was restored.

MK Party member injured in scuffle with police

The violence also resulted in one member of the legislature being injured. The MK Party member had to be taken to a nearby hospital for further treatment following the scuffle with the police.

Fellow MK Party members alleged that their colleague was injured by the police, who they maintain should never have been allowed into the chamber.

Other stories about the motion of no-confidence vote

Briefly News has covered several articles about the chaotic sitting in the KZN Legislature and the aftermath of it.

• The National Freedom Party's Mbali Shinga confirmed that she would not be supporting the MK Party's motion.
• The KZN Speaker, Nontembeko Nothemba Boyce, denied the application for the vote to be conducted via secret ballot.
• The MK Party promised to return with another motion against the Premier after their first one ended in chaos.

Source: Briefly News