The president of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) Velenkosini Hlabisa in an engagement with senior editorial staff and journalists at Independent Newspapers' offices in Greyville, Durban, last week, where he revealed that the party was playing itself in its elective conference to avoid legal challenges by branches who are yet to be unveiled.
Image: LEON LESTRADE Independent Newspapers
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) president Velenkosini Hlabisa has rejected claims that he is deliberately delaying the party’s long-overdue elective conference, insisting that internal processes must be completed to avoid costly legal challenges.
Hlabisa said the party is still finalising branch structures, warning that proceeding prematurely could open the door to court interdicts that would derail the conference at the last minute.
He was speaking during an engagement with senior editorial staff and journalists at Independent Newspapers’ offices in Greyville, Durban, last week.
The IFP last held an elective conference in 2019, when its late founder, Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi, formally handed over leadership to Hlabisa. The next conference, initially scheduled for 2024, was postponed to 2025 and has since been deferred again to this year.
Addressing criticism over the delays, Hlabisa dismissed suggestions that party leadership was reluctant to face an elective contest.
“Some are implying that we are afraid of the conference because we do not want to vacate positions. I am not against the conference, as long as we follow all due processes,” he said.
He pointed to recent events in the Eastern Cape, where a political party’s (ANC) provincial elective conference faced an urgent court challenge, as a cautionary example.
“We do not want a situation where a court interdicts the conference on the day it is scheduled, after people have travelled long distances to attend,” Hlabisa said.
He added that the party still has around 600 branches that have not yet been formally unveiled, noting that these structures could legally challenge the conference if excluded from the process. Some of these branches were unveiled over the weekend as part of efforts to conclude preparations.
Hlabisa also expressed concern over the financial implications of poorly prepared conferences, saying he was shocked by reports of the costs incurred in the Eastern Cape matter.
Beyond internal party matters, Hlabisa, who also serves as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, said preparations for the 2026 local government elections are under way, with an official announcement on the election date expected soon.
The elections are likely to take place between November 2026 and January 2027. Hlabisa said the date would be confirmed ahead of the voter registration weekend in June.
“We want people to go to registration weekend in June already knowing the date of the elections,” he said, adding that consultations with President Cyril Ramaphosa were being finalised.
Meanwhile, the IFP continues to bolster its ranks. Last week, the party unveiled former uMkhonto weSizwe Party secretary-general Dr Bongani Mncwango as a new member, and on Sunday it welcomed hundreds of additional members from various political parties in the Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality.