THE FUSE

By Celani Sikhakhane

Mbali Shinga, whose expulsion from the NFP is being contested in court, says the party is not ready for the 4 November elections due to infighting.
Over eight NFP councillors in Zululand, eThekwini and Ekurhuleni have joined the National People’s Ambassador, the new party linked to Shinga’s own faction.

Mbali Shinga, the KwaZulu-Natal chairperson of the National Freedom Party, whose expulsion from the party is currently being contested in court, says the party is not ready to contest the upcoming local government elections due to internal infighting.

Shinga was removed from the NFP earlier this year after refusing to support a motion of no confidence against KZN Premier Thami Ntuli. She has been fighting her expulsion in court, and currently holds onto her seat in the KZN Legislature and her position as MEC for Social Development only through an interim court interdict, pending the outcome of her legal challenge.

The NFP has accused Shinga and her supporters of secretly forming a rival party while she was still meant to be a member.

Speaking at a media briefing on Monday, Shinga said the NFP is not campaigning and has no visibility in communities ahead of the 4 November elections. She said the party is facing an exodus of senior leaders to parties including MKP, the ANC and the IFP, while others have formed new parties to contest the elections in municipalities across KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

“The NFP is not ready for these elections because of the internal infighting, and we are not visible in communities. I am prepared to take the matter to court to defend the constitution of the NFP,” Shinga said.

She said those seen as her supporters within the party are being pushed off candidate nomination lists.

Over eight NFP councillors in Zululand, eThekwini and Ekurhuleni are alleged to have joined the National People’s Ambassador (NPA). The party was originally formed in 2016 by Nathi Mthethwa, a former councillor at uThukela District Municipality, not to be confused with the late Minister of Police and Arts and Culture, and later Ambassador to France, of the same name, who died in Paris in October 2025.

This Mthethwa left the NPA in 2024 to join MKP, later becoming one of its members in the KZN Legislature. He told Scrolla.Africa on Tuesday that he had surrendered the party to NFP members and resigned two weeks ago to focus on his work with MKP.

The NFP faced a similar crisis in 2016, when it failed to pay the required funds to the Independent Electoral Commission before the deadline and was unable to contest that year’s elections. A subsequent court challenge failed, and the party later campaigned for the ANC and DA under an agreement giving its councillors seats in municipalities including Nongoma and Ulundi.

NFP leadership could not be reached for comment. Calls to party president Ivan Barnes and Secretary General Sunset Xaba went unanswered.

Pictured above: Mbali Shinga, KZN chairperson of the NFP and MEC for Social Development, whose expulsion from the party is currently being contested in court, says the NFP is not ready to contest the upcoming local government elections.

Image source: Social Development

This article has been updated.