NFP's KZN woes continue: Mbali Shinga defiant against party leader Ivan Barnes

National Freedom Party (NFP) leader, Ivan Barnes, has warned the party will deal decisively with rogue members amid a showdown with its suspended member, Mbali Shinga.

Speaking to IOL, Barnes said the party was going ahead with disciplinary action against Shinga, its only representative in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, after she recently defied party instructions to support a vote of no confidence against KZN Premier Thami Ntuli. Shinga has been suspended from the party, and has called on the party to resolve the dispute internally with "political maturity".

Legislature speaker, Nontembeko Boyce has declined the NFP's request to remove Shinga from the legislature, saying the NFP failed to meet the criteria to do so.

But, Barnes insists Shinga remains suspended from the party.

"We will deal with rogue elements in the party but will do so within the legal process. We are meeting our legal team on Tuesday and will be guided by what they say. The disciplinary hearing with Mbali is set down for later this month and that will also determine how we move forward with her. But as a party, our constitution is very clear on how our members should behave and what happens if they violate the party mandate," Barnes told IOL.

Shinga is the provincial MEC for social development, appointed after the NFP joined the government of provincial unity. The party holds just one seat but has emerged as king maker in the legislature. Ntuli also survived the no confidence vote as Shinga abstained rather than vote to support the motion to oust him. Shinga defended her actions, saying she was at the legislature as part of the party's decision to join government.

Shinga has been suspended from the party previously after being accused of failing to submit a revised list of its representatives to the KZN legislature shortly after the elections in 2024. That list would have seen Barnes replace Shinga in the provincial legislature. However, Shinga challenged the directive in court and won, securing her position.

It remains to be seen if Shinga will again challenge the disciplinary process to remove her from office. Previously, she argued only the party's local branch, and not party president, could institute disciplinary hearings against a member, and won her case.

IOL Politics