By Celani Sikhakhane
- IFP President says Zambia’s Kaunda and ANC’s Tambo guided Buthelezi to start the party in 1974.
- The youth leader says the party is working to expand beyond KZN and grow its national footprint.
IFP President Velenkosini Hlabisa has praised late ANC President Oliver Tambo and the late President of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda for their role in helping Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi form the Inkatha Freedom Party.
Speaking at the party’s 50-year celebration in Ulundi, KwaZulu-Natal, Hlabisa said Kaunda gave Buthelezi important advice in 1974.
“It was in Lusaka where President Kaunda encouraged Buthelezi to form a membership-based organisation to bring back political mobilisation after the apartheid regime had banned other movements like the ANC and PAC,” he said.
Hlabisa said Kaunda advised Buthelezi to build a “cohesive force” to fill the gap left by banned liberation movements.
“Buthelezi also sought guidance from ANC leader Oliver Tambo in exile, who supported the idea,” he said.
Hlabisa said from the start, the IFP stood for a democratic South Africa based on peace and reconciliation, not revenge.
The event had all the glitz and glamour, showing that the IFP now has strong financial support after making a major political comeback in KwaZulu-Natal.
Mlungisi Mabaso from the IFP Youth Brigade, who is also an MMC in the City of Johannesburg, said the party is working hard to grow beyond its KZN base.
“We now have councillors in Mpumalanga and Gauteng. In North West and Eastern Cape, we have members and active organisers,” said Mabaso.
He said the goal is to grow the party nationally and shake off the label of being a regional party.
Pictured above: IFP President Velenkosini Hlabisa dancing with Blessed Gwala and Prince Zuzifa Buthelezi at the IFP’s 50-year celebration.
Image source: IFP
