NFP defends its senior leader facing corruption charges

THE National Freedom Party (NFP) has come out in defence of one of its senior leaders, saying the case of fraud and corruption opened by its members was intended to destabilise the party.

The case opened at Pietermaritzburg Central Police station this month is linked to the alleged embezzlement of party funds.

NFP spokesperson Ahmed Munzoor Shaik-Emam said the complainants had failed to provide evidence against the accused.

“I have requested the written proof more than 20 times, but I have received nothing. There is absolutely no evidence provided thus far.

“But there is a cabal that is deliberately trying to destabilise the party so that the NFP does not contest the elections,” said Shaik-Emam.

One of the complainants, Erickson Zungu, claimed the looting started in 2016. A senior provincial NFP member, who declined to be named, said the province had requested the national office to deal with the matter.

Zungu said there had been attempts by the party’s national leadership to force him and two other complainants to drop the charges.

“Members of the interim national executive committee told us that the case is going to affect the party.

“But our concern is that while we keep accusing the ANC of corruption, we protect our own leaders who are also accused of corruption. We are not withdrawing the case,” said Zungu.

In 2016, the NFP failed to participate in the local government elections and the party subsequently expelled its former treasurer-general after he apparently forgot to pay the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) the party’s required deposit, preventing it from contesting the local government elections.

An internal disciplinary inquiry looked at five charges, including the misappropriation of party funds, gross dishonesty or corruption, false representation or deception to advance his own interests, bringing the party into disrepute for failing to register it with the IEC, and any other act of misconduct that would constitute just cause for dismissal.

The NFP was formed in 2011, some three months before the local government elections in that year, when the former Inkatha Freedom Party chairwoman Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi left the IFP.

The party has been beset by rivalries ever since KaMagwaza-Msibi, suffered a debilitating stroke in November 2014.