By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The National Freedom Party (NFP) has postponed the disciplinary hearing against its sole representative in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) provincial legislature, Mbali Shinga.
Fullview learnt that the hearing will proceed on 14, 15 and 16 January 2026 after all legal representatives agreed earlier today that it should be postponed.
Shinga was hauled to the disciplinary hearing after she defied NFP president Ivan Barnes, who had struck a deal with MK Party and the EFF to try to wrest control from the Government Provincial Unity (GPU).
NFP won 19,548 votes of the 3.5 million cast in KZN, making the infamously fractious party KZN’s kingmaker.
The MK party swept the floor in the 2024 elections in KZN, securing 37 of the 80 seats, but the opposition united to keep it out of power.
The legislature has 80 members. If MK, EFF, and NFP were to form a pact, it would be divided 40–40, leaving the provincial government unable to pass any legislation. MK party has 37 seats, the EFF has two, and the NFP has one. The IFP holds 15 seats, the ANC 14 and the DA 11.
Shinga was also instructed to resign from both her position as MEC of Social Development and MPL by 09:00 on Thursday, after the party withdrew from the GPU.
She has once again rejected the directives issued by the National Executive Committee (NEC), prompting concerns about her commitment to party discipline.
According to the NFP, the NEC’s directive underscores a commitment to fostering unity and adherence to collective decisions, stating that the actions taken are not intended to undermine Shinga’s contributions but to reinforce party discipline.
Shinga’s position has been at the centre of internal conflict within the NFP for several months, culminating in her suspension pending a disciplinary process.
Former NFP secretary Teddy Thwala has come out in support of Shinga. He said the party has no power to force her to resign.
He said only the premier can appoint or remove a MEC.
“It is the premiers decision who serves as a MEC,” Thwala said. “If the premier is unhappy, he can remove her. Shinga took an oath to serve the people of KwaZulu-Natal, not a political party.”
The party has a patchy history. In the 2016 local government elections, it botched its registration and completed the paperwork in only one municipality nationwide, securing it a paltry 5,000 votes.
In 2019, kaMagwaza-Msibi had a stroke. She died in 2021, the year Shinga was elected to the party’s national executive committee.
In the 2021 local government elections, the NFP had a spectacular bounce-back, securing 157,000 votes in KZN municipalities.
At the time, the NFP had only one seat in the KZN legislature. Its sole MPL resigned to start his own political party, and Shinga was appointed to replace him in October 2022.
Shinga applied herself and raised her profile so that a year later, at the NFP’s KZN conference, she was elected chair. A few months later, in December 2023, the party held its national conference, bedevilled by infighting and court challenges.
Barnes emerged as party president, with Shinga’s support, but the NFP’s showing in the 2024 national elections was dismal.
Meanwhile the African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal requested a meeting with the NFP following its abrupt decision to withdraw from the government of provincial unity (GPU).