The leadership of the NFP led by the Deputy President Milton Sokhela, Provincial Chairperson in KwaZulu-Natal Mbali Shinga and some of the leaders visiting the family of the late founder of the party Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi last month following the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the IFP's splinter party.
Image: SUPPLIED
The turbulent internal affairs of the National Freedom Party (NFP) have cast serious doubt on the party’s future, following a humiliating defeat in what was once its stronghold of Nongoma.
In the February 25, 2026 by-election, the NFP secured just 192 votes, finishing a distant third behind the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which won the ward convincingly with 1113 votes. The outcome marks a dramatic decline for the 15-year-old party, which previously enjoyed significant support in the area.
The ward had once been a symbol of resilience for the NFP. In the 2021 local government elections, the party won despite the fatal shooting of its candidate, Dumisani Qwabe, shortly before voting day. In the 2022 by-election triggered by his murder, the NFP retained the ward with 44.85% of the vote.
Cracks in the Zululand Base
Nongoma, regarded as the seat of the Zulu Kingdom, was central to the NFP’s 2021 electoral success, which saw the party secure 14 councillors. Much of its support came from Zululand and Dumbe — the latter being the only municipality under NFP control.
Former mayor of Nongoma Mshangane Ndabandaba, who resigned frrom the NFP and joined the uMkhonto weSizwe Party.
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However, the party is now grappling with a mass exodus of councillors. Former Nongoma mayor Mshangane Ndabandaba and councillor Kaizer Dladla recently resigned to join the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party). Their departure followed the resignation of three other councillors, including the Ward 17 representative.
The resignations have triggered fresh by-elections in Wards 7 and 20, exposing deep factional divisions. Ward 20 will go into by-elections on March 18, 2026.
Regional leadership has since disbanded certain structures in Zululand and attempted to remove Ndabandaba and Sibusiso Mkhabela, the mayor of Dumbe Municipality, from their positions. Efforts were also underway to strip Ndabandaba of his executive committee role before his resignation.
Turmoil Spreads Beyond Nongoma
The party’s instability is not confined to Zululand. In eThekwini, the NFP attempted to remove its deployee, Zandile Myeni, who serves as Deputy Mayor of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.
At the provincial level, NFP chairperson Mbali Shinga, currently the party’s sole representative in the 80-seat KwaZulu-Natal Legislature and MEC for Social Development, faces an unresolved disciplinary process. She is accused of defying party instructions by refusing to support a motion of no confidence against KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli.
The NFP's provincial chairperson Mbali Shinga missed her disciplinary hearing on Friday last week as she attended Premier Thami Ntuli's State of the Province Address in the provincial legislature in Pietermaritzburg.
Image: SIBONELO NGCOBO | Independent Newspapers
Instead, Shinga sided with Government of Provincial Unity partners, the IFP, ANC and DA, a move seen as distancing the NFP from the MK Party and EFF.
A Party at a Crossroads
Founded on January 25, 2011, by former IFP chairperson Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi after her split from the IFP, the NFP once positioned itself as a formidable force in KwaZulu-Natal politics.
In June 2024, then President Jacob Zuma appointed KaMagwaza-Msibi as Deputy Minister of Science and Technology. The then IFP President Mangosuthu Buthelezi viewed the appointment as a calculated political move by the ANC to destroy the IFP, calling it "payment" for her "treachery" in breaking away from the IFP.
Today, however, mounting by-election losses, internal purges and high-profile defections suggest a party fighting for survival.
With local government elections expected in November 2026, the NFP faces an uphill battle to rebuild credibility and retain relevance in its traditional heartland.