KwaZulu-Natal premier Thami Ntuli. Photo: Mbuso Kunene
A motion of no confidence against KwaZulu-Natal premier Thamsanqa Ntuli of the Inkatha Freedom Party, sponsored by Jacob Zuma’s uMkhanto weSizwe party, failed on Monday during a voting session marred by violence.
A scuffle broke out when MK members rejected the results, prompting the proceedings to be adjourned. A heavy throng of police had to be called in and speaker Nontembeko Boyce had to be whisked out after she was manhandled by angry members of the party.
The motion failed to meet the required 40+1 threshold which could have seen the government of provincial unity being dissolved. The MK party had pinned its hopes on a secret ballot which Boyce however denied.
The National Freedom Party (NFP) representative in the legislature, Mbali Shinga, who is also the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for social development, decided to ditch his party mandate and affirm allegiance to Ntuli’s leadership.
The MK party pulled a surprise when it garnered about 45% of the provincial vote during the 2024 general elections, having been formed less than six months prior. The party holds 37 out of 80 seats, but was relegated to the opposition benches when the ANC, Democratic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party and the NFP bandied together to form the government of provincial unity.
“There is a myth we must demystify today. That a certain organisation won here. We have a debate today because of that shallow understanding. The seats in this house are 80 and for you to win, you need 40 plus one nothing less,” the ANC’s Siboniso Duma, who is the MEC for transport and human settlement, said after Monday’s vote.
MK’s Mervyn Dirks said the party would not back down from its efforts to oust Ntuli.
“Today we are appealing to the ANC members of this house to their revolutionary conscience to do the right thing. If this vote doesn’t pass we’re going to collapse this government,” he said.
“Next year, no budget will be passed in this house. If no budget is passed after three occasions, we will go to the electorates for fresh elections. The will of the people will prevail.”
The IFP’s Thulasizwe Buthelezi, who is the MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs, accused the MK party members of being anarchists.
“The motion today is a choice — a choice between stability and anarchy, a choice between the rule of law and the rule of the jungle, a choice between putting the people first and placing them at the mercy of Duduzile Zuma and her friends,” he said.
Buthelezi was referring to Jacob Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla who resigned as an MK member of parliament last month amid allegations that she falsely recruited 17 South Africans to join the Russian army in the war against Ukraine.
The Economic Freedom Fighters support the motion of no confidence against Ntuli, a move which surprised many as its leader Julius Malema had previously declared the MK party, which displaced the Red Berets as South Africa’s third-largest party last year — as “enemy number one”, accusing it of trying to destroy his organisation.