Durban - A late battle was on in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday to win the NFP vote, as the ANC paraded new members who had defected from the NFP in Durban, while IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi urged NFP supporters in Ulundi to “come back home” to the IFP.
The ANC’s final effort saw it snatching a prominent NFP leader, Wiseman Mcoyi, a member of the NFP’s national working committee and party councillor in the eThekwini Municipality. Mcoyi defected with a large group of members of his party on Sunday.
They were paraded at a packed Moses Mabhida Stadium during an ANC Siyanqoba rally.
Mcoyi, seen as a NFP hardliner and party president Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi’s right-hand man, said he had enlisted NFP members to send SMSes and other messages to their “comrades” to defect to the ANC. Mcoyi said he had used his NFP office in Durban as a “recruitment centre”.
“We bought four tablets and two new computers to use to send messages.
“I can tell you right now that there are people working in my office talking to people and sending messages,” he said.
Buthelezi told a rally at the Ulundi Sports Stadium that the IFP remained the only party that could fulfil the promises made to NFP members by their party. He was addressing thousands of the IFP supporters at his party’s final rally.
“We know there are some leaders that I will not mention who are already talking to you (NFP members) that you should vote for them this coming election, saying they will take care of you,” he said.
Disillusioned NFP supporters will be looking for a political home this election after their party was disqualified for failing to meet the Electoral Commission of SA’s deadline to pay fees.
Buthelezi, however, said the IFP had not been involved in sabotaging the NFP. He said the IFP had sent its lawyer to the court as a friend of the court. “We shared the shock of the NFP supporters over such a fundamental mistake at leadership level.”
Mcoyi said on Sunday that he had left the NFP because it has been hijacked by “chancers”.
“It has been hijacked by people who do not have a driver’s license to drive it. Now there are these scandals,” he said.
Responding on Sunday to Mcoyi’s defection, deputy president Alex Kekane said NFP members were free to vote for any party but not the IFP.
Also joining the ANC on Sunday were NFP Youth Wing secretary-general Busi Shabalala and student leader Sboniso Majola.
AU chairwoman and ANC national executive member Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma told the NFP members that their president, Zanele kaMagwaza Msibi, would also be welcomed to the ANC. However, Mcoyi said he did not know KaMagwaza-Msibi’s plans.
Mcoyi was the IFP leader in eThekwini, but left to work with KaMagwaza-Msibi to form the NFP before 2011 local government elections. AfterKaMagwaza-Msibi had a stroke, the NFP was divided, with Mcoyi leading a group that accused party chairman Maliyakhe Shelembe of leading a plot to oust her.
“This party is dead, which is why we have taken a decision to encourage people to give their vote to the ANC, instead of depriving themselves of their constitutional right to vote,” he said.
ANC provincial chairman Sihle Zikalala told the Durban crowd that party members who had become independent candidates were back-stabbers. “We treated them as our comrades, but they used us to fulfil their ambitions,” he said.
KwaZulu-Natal has more than 200 independent candidates who mostly broke away from the ANC after becoming disgruntled about the candidate nomination process.
It has generally been believed that ANC alliance partners the SACP and Cosatu were also unhappy with the nominations. However, on Sunday Cosatu president S'dumo Dlamini and SACP provincial chairman Themba Mthembu said people should vote ANC on Wednesday.
“As workers we will vote for the ANC. We will deal with challenges later. Let’s put aside disputes,” said Mthembu.
Buthelezi said his party could be trusted as it did not make empty promises and had a track record in service delivery. “People want change. They are sick of lies, arrogance and weak leadership. They want to bring integrity back to politics,” he said.
The Mercury