Trouble brews in KZN fight

CALLS FOR CALM AS ANC, IFP SLUG IT OUT

The mudslinging between the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is laying a fertile ground for political clashes, with calls for leaders to nip it in the bud before the May general elections.

University of Free State politics expert Professor Sethulego Matebisi said authorities needed to act urgently to avoid a repeat of deadly conflicts between the parties in the past.

Tensions between the historical rivals escalated on Saturday when supporters of the ANC and IFP clashed, leaving 16 injured.

The rift started earlier during the annual commemoration of King Dinuzulu kaCetswayo in Nongoma, when ANC provincial chair Siboniso Duma interrupted Zulu traditional prime minister Thulasizwe Buthelezi from speaking further, after he started criticising the provincial government’s handling of royal affairs.

Buthelezi is also an IFP mayor of Zululand district municipality.

The public spat happened in front of President Cyril Ramaphosa and Zulu king Misizulu kaZwelithini.

The rhetoric by the new uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party’s leaders is adding fuel to the fire, said Matebisi.

“The history of political violence and the ongoing political killings, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, tells us to not take the recent incidents lightly.

“What happened on Saturday has laid a fertile ground for political intolerance and clashes. The province is vulnerable when it comes to political violence and it is worrying,” he said.

Both parties were unapologetic after the incidents, with the IFP accusing the ANC of disrespecting the king and hijacking a royal event.

The ANC said it was disappointed that its supporters were attacked by IFP members “bused in from a hostel”. The IFP denied its supporters attacked others, adding that no one was bused in from a hostel as there were no hostels in Zululand.

An ANC member in Ladysmith, who did not want his name published, said political confrontations are part of everyday life in the province.

He said he witnessed spats before, including during an ANC meeting in Mhlumayo, in Uthukela, where the IFP and the Economic Freedom Fighters demanded to form part of the meeting.

“Most of the clashes are never covered by media, but residents know this never stopped after 1994 elections.”

Deliwe Khanyile, an IFP supporter in Newcastle, accused the ANC of trying “to run the royal affairs”.

“ANC leaders know they are not coming back after these elections. No leader of the IFP will allow the ANC to behave in the manner that Duma behaved on Saturday,” she said. –