×

We've got news for you.

Register on SowetanLIVE at no cost to receive newsletters, read exclusive articles & more.
Register now

Corrupt ANC a far cry from organisation he once served‚ says IFP leader

Picture credit: ESA ALEXANDER.
Picture credit: ESA ALEXANDER.

Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi says he wonders how the ANC could have fallen so far from the organisation he once served and that was started by his uncle.

Speaking at a municipal by-election rally in uPhongolo in northern KwaZulu-Natal‚ Buthelezi said the ANC had allowed itself to become something entirely different from the liberation organisation of the past.

“It has tolerated corrupt leadership in its midst‚ and indeed protected corrupt leaders. We have lost respect for what the ANC has become. Promise by broken promise‚ we have lost faith in a party that barely resembles the liberation movement started by my uncle‚ Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme.

 “I look at the ANC now‚ and I wonder how it could have fallen so far from the organisation I once served. The answer‚ of course‚ is corruption. Once you open the door to that‚ the floodgates open to all kinds of evil‚” the IFP leader said.

The by-election in ward 7 will be held on Wednesday. The ward became vacant in December when councillor Mbhekiseni “Pat” Khumalo was shot dead at his house by assassins pretending they were residents needing assistance.

The by-election was meant to take place in March. But just a few days before voting stations were meant to open‚ the Electoral Commission approached the Electoral Court to postpone the by-election following allegations that some voters who were registered to vote there‚ were not actually resident in ward 7. The IEC thus sought more time to verify the voters’ roll‚ and to allow political parties to check the voters’ roll themselves.

Buthelezi said he was hoping for a repeat performance in the ward after the IFP’s recent victory in the Nquthu by-elections.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.