The IFP is facing an internal revolt over who should be the face of the party in the general election next year -- Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi or party president Velenkosini Hlabisa.
Scrolla.Africa has learnt from reliable sources in the organisation that Hlabisa is fighting on another front over who should be the premier candidate for the party in KwaZulu-Natal. Here, he is facing off against provincial chairperson Thami Ntuli.
Members wearing T-shirts bearing Hlabisa's face on them will apparently be hauled over the coals. Ntuli had been mentioned as the person behind a plan to charge members wearing party regalia bearing Hlabisa's face.
This prompted a response from the IFP's national secretary, Siphosethu Ngcobo, who issued a strong memorandum to the party's district secretaries requesting them to submit a list of those members seen wearing regalia bearing Hlabisa's image instead of the ones with Buthelezi on them.
A memo that Scrolla.Africa has seen, dated 4 May, reads: "You are thus requested to submit the list and details of all members or persons within your district who are known to have worn or are wearing the regalia with the IFP logo that does not bear the face of the founder and President Emeritus Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, but of the sitting president, VF Hlabisa, in contravention of the party's resolution. The details are to be submitted to my office by the end of business on May 5."
A member who spoke to Scrolla.Africa on condition of anonymity said the aim of the campaign is to sideline Hlabisa. He said there is nothing wrong with wearing a T-shirt bearing Hlabisa's face, since he is party president.
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"We do not know of a resolution that prevents us from wearing regalia with the face of our president, but we know of a resolution that said we must dedicate 2021 to the founder and beyond."
Ngcobo said he had taken note of the attacks on the IFP and its founder in an internal memorandum that he had circulated to all party structures. He added that while it was not his habit to discuss internal party matters in the public arena, he felt he had to provide context to the memorandum as it was now being misrepresented.
The IFP, like all political parties, was gearing up for 2024 and had initiated internal discussions about brand discipline, saying nobody could deny that Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi was the IFP's strongest brand. Ngcobo attributed the party's success in the by-election to Buthelezi's legacy.
"It is due to his legacy and commitment to moral and ethical leadership that the IFP continues to grow from by-election to by-election. The IFP's national council -- the party's highest decision-making body -- has therefore resolved to reaffirm our party resolution taken in 2019 and 2021, to continue using our founder's face as our brand.
"Our brand is our strength, and brand discipline will be key as we embark on what we believe will be our strongest showing in the 2024 election," reads the statement.
Attempts to get comment from Ntuli drew a blank as his phone rang unanswered, and messages sent to him were not answered at the time of publishing.
