By Celani Sikhakhane
- The uMkhonto weSizwe Party won ward 18 in Mandeni, beating the ANC and IFP in a tense by-election.
- The ANC was hit hard after the killing of its councillor Phendukani Mabhida, with corruption allegations tied to his death.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party has taken over a key ANC ward in Mandeni, beating both the ANC and the IFP — even after volunteers raised concerns about vote-rigging.
Scrolla.Africa was on the ground with MK Party volunteers on Wednesday night, who were complaining about alleged irregularities during voting. But despite the challenges, they still won.
The MK Party’s candidate Xolani Mxhakaza won ward 18, defeating the ANC and IFP, who were both campaigning hard.
At some point, the ANC and IFP were seen campaigning together — arriving with “babies from Toyota”, slang referring to flashy campaign vehicles.
The by-election came after the death of ANC ward councillor Phendukani Mabhida.
The MK Party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, continues to grow its support in KwaZulu-Natal. It previously took 110 wards from the Democratic Alliance in Durban.
Its recent victory in Mandeni is another blow to both the ANC and the IFP. The party is planning to take over more municipalities in the province.
The ANC hoped to regain the ward following Mabhida’s death. Big-name politicians were deployed to campaign — including IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa and former ANC KZN chairperson Siboniso Duma.
The MK Party won the ward by 813 votes. The ANC received 533.
The voting process was rocked by claims that an IEC official took a scanner to a private home under the excuse of needing to charge it. That official has since been suspended and is under investigation.
Mabhida was murdered in February. It’s believed he was targeted for speaking out against corruption at the Mandeni local municipality.
Just before his death, Mabhida wrote a letter to the ANC regional secretary, Sphe Zulu, listing corruption allegations against some party members.
Zulu confirmed he received the letter and said: “Mabhida was killed before they could meet for him to explain in detail the contents of his letter.”
Two men accused of his murder were arrested and remain in custody after abandoning their bail application.
Zulu also welcomed the IEC’s action over the scanner issue.
“The ANC in the region welcomes the decision by IEC to take drastic action against a presiding officer and an official deployed to officiate the by-election in ward 18,” he said.
He claimed the IEC official was caught trying to sway voters away from the ANC.
“The same official was caught trying to mobilise people against voting for the ANC. The official was persuading at least three young voters not to vote ANC saying that the ANC-led Mandeni Municipality failed to gravel the access road leading to the voting station,” said Zulu.
Pictured above: uMkhonto weSizwe Party won elections despite challenges.
Image source: X
