Durban - Limping following heavy electoral losses in last year’s local government elections, the ANC has now lost the last district municipality it controlled in Zululand, a region spanning the area from the uThukela river near Mandeni, running up to the border with Eswatini and Mozambique.
On Tuesday the ANC’s long-time political nemesis in KwaZulu-Natal, the IFP, without the help of a coalition partner, ousted the governing party from power in the Umkhanyakude District Municipality.
The district municipality, which is anchored in the farming town of Mkuze, comprises Jozini, Mtubatuba, Hlabisa, Big Five False Bay (St Lucia) and Umhlabuyalinga local municipalities.
During last year’s elections, the IFP won all except Umhlabuyalingana and Mtubatuba, which is the biggest local municipality, to the ANC, but it cried foul.
BREAKING NEWS: It's over for the ANC in the Mkhanyakude district municipality after the IFP claimed it back a short while ago. The ANC's Siphile Mdaka was ousted and his position was taken over by Tim Moodley. The ANC's previous victory was nullified by courts. @DailyNewsSA pic.twitter.com/eHu8MHqLxH
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) May 3, 2022
According to Innocent Mkhwanazi, one of the senior leaders of the IFP in the region, on November 23 last year, when the Mtubatuba Local Municipality convened its inaugural council meeting to elect office bearers, there were irregularities.
He said one IFP councillor asked to take a comfort break just before the voting for office bearers began. When the councillor came back, he was barred by security personnel, who claimed that once the voting process had begun, no one was allowed to either walk out or into the venue.
Another IFP councillor was dubiously denied the right to vote despite being in possession of a temporary identity document. This was even though he had been sworn in hours earlier using the same temporary identification papers.
In the end, the IFP lost by two votes and was deprived of an opportunity to send three councillors to the district municipality. After that, the party dashed to court to resolve the matters. However, they suffered a setback when it ruled that their matter was not urgent.
Late last month (April 19, 2022), KZN Judge President Isaac Madondo ruled that the Mtubatuba meeting that resulted in the ANC’s Mbongeleni Gina briefly being elected as mayor, was invalid and set it aside.
The ruling paved the way for the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) to conduct fresh elections that gave the IFP the three district seats it used on Tuesday to oust Siphile Mdaka, the ANC’s short-lived mayor.
A jubilant Mkhwanazi confirmed to the Daily News on Tuesday that they had reclaimed the district municipality after a special council sitting.
“Yes, we have taken over the district. The new mayor is Tim Moodley, his deputy is K Mkhwanazi and the speaker is Petros Madlopha,” Mkhwanazi said.
Mdaka disputed the IFP's claim that it has taken over the municipality. He said the meeting was illegally convened and it did not meet the required quorum.
"I am still the mayor of the district, what happened today was illegal and in violation of the law," Mdaka said.
Daily News