The Inkatha Freedom Party Youth Brigade has officially denounced, ”with contempt”, utterances made by the party’s national chairperson, Dr Ziba Jiyane, at a weekend IFP rally.
The action is expected to be among a variety of personal attacks engineered by the party’s spin doctors, which will lead to Jiyane being forced out of his leadership position at an upcoming national council meeting of the party.
The party’s management under Musa Zondi has announced that such a meeting will be held shortly — but the date has not been fixed.
Jiyane — a successful KwaZulu-Natal businessman — criticised the undemocratic nature of the party at a rally in Umlazi, Durban, last Saturday.
The remarks were interpreted as a direct challenge to the authority of party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
In a statement on Tuesday, youth leader Thulaziswe Buthelezi — who is known to be close to the party leader — said all branches support this position.
Thulasizwe said: ”The IFP Youth Brigade is appalled that for the last year in which Dr Jiyane has occupied the office of national chairperson … he has not once presented his views on the question of leadership or reform … and has not engaged any constitutional structure of the IFP on any proposals.
”The IFP Youth Brigade, therefore, finds it ludicrous for Dr Jiyane to now pronounce to the whole world that a dictator is leading the IFP — using a few misguided youth as his vehicle.
”The IFP Youth Brigade will continue to entrench the long-held culture of organisational discipline and we will crush this defiance campaign that has emerged over the past few days.
”We will continue to observe our constitution and continue to work in a democratic way. We will continue to support the tried and tested leadership of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi over the antics of political opportunism.
”We will continue to drive the programme of renewal and regeneration within the IFP under the visionary leadership of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi. We will not tolerate nor allow political opportunists, masquerading as ”reformists”, to speak on behalf of the youth brigade to the destruction of the IFP.
”We would like to remind Dr Ziba Jiyane, that the very same conference which voted him as national chairperson also elected Reverend Musa Zondi as secretary general and Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi as president.
”The inference that our leadership is dictatorial does not give credence to the electoral process which elected Dr Jiyane himself.”
Jiyane on Monday said his fate will be determined by the democratic process of the next national conference. However, he did not rule out that the party could take undemocratic measures against him — through, for example, an upcoming national council meeting. — I-Net Bridge