Durban — If being at the top of the list of a party’s candidates is anything to go by, former KwaZulu-Natal director-general Nhlanhla Ngidi will be premier if the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) wins the elections in the province.
Ngidi is not the only familiar name on the MKP list. Kwazi Brian Mbanjwa, according to party members, is the “Dr Mbanjwa” who was the head of the provincial transport department in the early 2000s.
Although Ngidi and Mbanjwa held various senior positions in the ANC-led administration, their political activities were not in the limelight. This time Ngidi’s name features as number one on the MKP’s provincial candidates list, which the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) released recently for parties to inspect and object to if necessary.
However, MKP spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said “being number one on our list doesn’t result in that person being a premier of the province”.
Both Ngidi and Mbanjwa could not be reached for comment.
King Misuzulu’s deputy traditional prime minister, Inkosi Phathisizwe Chiliza, the provincial House of Traditional Leaders’ former chairperson, is at number 41.
When contacted, Chiliza said he had just heard about it. Chiliza said he had not seen his name on the list because he had been preoccupied with a death in his family.
Also on the provincial list is Inkosi Nhlakanipho Maphumulo, the son of a Struggle stalwart whose murder in 1991 was linked to his political activism. His father, Inkosi Mhlabunzima Maphumulo, was the first president of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa), which was associated with the ANC and UDF during the Struggle.
Maphumulo’s mother, Thobekile Maphumulo, also an ANC activist, has served as mayor of Mkhambathini Municipality and was a Umngungundlovu District Municipality mayoral candidate. A source close to the Maphumulo family said Maphumulo was the only one in the family who had defected to the MKP.
The list also contains the name of Linda Mabhida, grandson of SACP secretary-general Moses Mabhida who died while in exile in Maputo, Mozambique, in 1986.
ANC national executive committee member Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma’s sister, Hlobisile Salvatoris Dlamini, was fired from the ruling party and as MPL after her name was spotted as number 32 on the MKP list.
Lloyd Phumlani Mfeka, who shot to prominence when he led the Mazibuye African Forum and who was found guilty by the Equality Court in 2019 of hate speech, is also on the list.
The IEC has since removed the list from its website to allow for objections.
The final list, which will not have former president Jacob Zuma’s name as he was removed as a candidate due to his criminal record, will be published on Wednesday.
Sunday Tribune