IFP President Velenkosini Hlabisa delivered the keynote address during the party's 50th anniversary at the Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi regional stadium in Ulundi.
Image: File: Sibonelo Ngcobo/ Independent Newspapers
THE IFP’s 50th-anniversary celebrations in Ulundi got off to a near-fatal start, but the party sealed the day jubilantly after the incumbent leader, Velenkosini Hlabisa, addressed thousands of party supporters in Ulundi, north of KwaZulu-Natal.
Before the start of the event, four IFP supporters sustained serious injuries after the bus they were travelled in from Vryheid to Ulundi crashed and overturned.
During the event, Hlabisa paid homage to the late party founder Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, describing him as a “visionary leader”.
“The 50-year journey has been a good one. A journey of difficult times and a journey now again of good times. Ours has been a story of resilience, service and integrity. It is right that we take this time to reflect on the journey of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the role we played in the nation's pursuit of freedom, unity and democracy.”
He said: “Inkatha YeNkululeko YeSizwe (the IFP’s former name) was the life’s work of the founder Prince of KwaPhindangene (Buthelezi’s clan). He was a visionary leader. For almost half a century, he poured his heart out, energy, passion and prayers into the work of our party, for he believed at every moment that Inkatha YeNkululeko YeSizwe had a valuable voice and a contribution to make.”
Hlabisa said the party celebrated the 50th-anniversary milestone and honoured Shenge’s memory (Buthelezi’s clan name), who died on September 9, 2023.
“And his immeasurable contribution to our party and the nation,” he said.
The Golden Jubilee, as the event was dubbed, saw IFP big hitters gathered at the Prince Mangosuthu Regional Stadium in Ulundi.
Among them were the provincial chairperson and premier, Thamsanqa Ntuli, the party’s deputy president, Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi and Mangosuthu’s son, Zuzifa, who took over as the leader of the Buthelezi clan after the passing of his father.
Party spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa, led scores of party supporters, clad in IFP's colours, in revolutionary songs.
The party will hold another leg of the celebration in Gauteng, where it also enjoys considerable support, particularly from the hostel dwellers.
The celebrations come ahead of the much-awaited 2026 local government.
The IFP was formed on March 21, 1975, by Buthelezi, who had defected from the ANC.
The party enjoyed significant support in KZN until its late national chairperson, Zanele KaMagwaza-Msibi, dumped the party to form the National Freedom Party (NFP) in 2011, which saw scores of former IFP members defecting with her.
However, the IFP regained its lost ground by reclaiming key municipalities in KZN during the 2016 local government elections.
The IFP was now a part of the ten-party National Government of Unity and the Government of Provincial Unity in KZN.
The IFP has two ministers in the GNU, Hlabisa, who is the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), and Mzamo Buthelezi, Minister of Public Service and Administration.
Narend Singh serves as the Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, while Mkhuleko Hlengwa was the Transport Deputy Minister.
WhatsApp your views on this story at 071 485 7995
DAILY NEWS