After the ANC lost another ward to the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, in the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality’s Ward 14, Durban-based political analyst Thobani Zikalala said the ANC faced an “organisational crisis”. | Armand Hough/ Independent Newspapers
Durban — The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, plagued by a series of setbacks ranging from infighting caused by factionalism to jockeying for party and government positions, came out of Wednesday’s by-elections bruised politically.
This, after the party, which previously jealously guarded its unity and dominance in KZN, lost another ward to its splinter party led by its former president Jacob Zuma, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), in the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality’s Ward 14.
Following the defeat, a Durban-based political analyst, Thobani Zikalala, said the ANC was facing an “organisational crisis”.
“The ANC is in a predicament where it must fight to restore its legitimacy as a leader in society as it has always claimed. It must be alive to the realities of society. In KwaZulu-Natal, they have a crisis of stability in the organisation. And the organisation is unable to read the political moment and be able to respond to it.”
Zikalala added: “It continues as normal as though things have not changed and the challenge the ANC is going to face is to align with the realities of the people.”
Zikalala warned that unless the ANC dealt with internal challenges, including factionalism, the party would suffer in the upcoming 2026 local government elections where wards and municipalities – including eight metros, like eThekwini with a budget of R67 billion – across the country will be up for grabs.
“The ANC must be able to restore its legitimacy and restore its leadership credentials. Because it seems as if it’s also facing leadership credibility issues, where those leading the ANC may not have the goodwill of the people and because of that, the ANC must restore that,” said Zikalala.
In a statement released after the victory, the MKP said: “What we have learnt from this by-election isn’t that our people love and trust the uMkhonto weSizwe Party. We have learnt that members of different communities and traditional and religious leaders always want to be closely consulted on the candidates our organisation selects as candidates.”
The party said it was using the by-elections as a launching pad ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
Senior ANC leaders, including its secretary-general Fikile Mbulula and national chairperson Gwede Mantashe, have publicly admitted that Zuma’s MKP dented the electoral prospects of the party during the May 29 election. The ANC, for the first since 1994, lost its majority nationally dramatically dropping from 57% to 40%. In KZN, the party dipped from 54% to 18%.
Despite losing Ward 14, where the MKP’s Thamsanqa “TP” Madlala was elected councillor, the ANC was able to defend Ward 24 in the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality and Ward 4 in the Mooi Mpofana (Umgungundlovu District).
“We remain indebted to the senior citizens for having built this country over the years and for protecting the gains at the local government level,” said the MKP in a statement.
Following the embarrassing defeat to Independent candidate Andrew Akkers recently in Ward 34 in eThekwini, the DA redeemed itself and convincingly defended its five wards in KZN.
The five wards - three in eThekwini, one in KwaDukuza and one in Umdoni Municipality (Ugu District) - were left vacant after the DA deployed its councillors to provincial legislatures and the National Assembly after the May elections.
The party’s incoming wards 35 and 36 councillors will aim to continue from where the previous regime left off following landslide victories during Wednesday’s by-elections.
The DA won 91% of the Ward 35 votes, with 5 410 votes in their favour.
This was followed by 468 by ActionSA and 64 by the ANC.
Incoming Ward 36 councillor Heinz de Boer said he had 10 years’ experience as a councillor, plus he served five years in the provincial legislature as part of Economic Development and Tourism.
“I want to transform the whole ward into an economic powerhouse. I aim to manage open spaces and trading areas and to make the area safe, secure and clean,” De Boer said.
He added that when one doesn’t have burst water pipes and cables everywhere, it creates an environment where jobs can be created and the economy can be grown. It also adds to revamping and making Durban North the place to be.
“uMhlanga was always seen as a tourist place, but people don’t realise there are many hotels in Durban North. The ward is already economically strong, but we want to grow it into a place where people want to live and work,” De Boer said.
He added that one of his plans was to formalise informal traders in the area and enforce by-laws.
The IFP fended off opponents - including the MKP - in Nkandla, Zuma’s home village, retaining Ward 4 after getting 54% of the vote. The MKP came in second with 40%, and the DA third with 6%, a backslide from 34% in 2021.
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