The Sowetan
Mr Len Maseko
Via email: [email protected]
Dear Sir:
I have taken note of the claims made by Mrs Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi in Canaan Mdlethse’s article “King Zwelithini cautions NFP” (Sowetan: 21 June 2011) in which Mrs kaMagwaza-Msibi claims that she started her own party because circumstances beyond her control led to it; that it never occurred to her in her wildest dreams that she would ever “belong to another political party” and that she was forced to leave the IFP because she could no longer “tolerate ill-treatment and persecution”.
What utter nonsense. Magwaza-Msibi’s party was registered with the Independent Electoral Commission on the 29th of October 2010, just a day before she was scheduled to appear before an IFP disciplinary hearing and while she was still happily drawing a salary as an IFP MPL.
The hearing, ironically, sought to determine the veracity of Magwaza-Msibi’s protestations that the “Friends of VZ” – a group of malcontents campaigning for her to take over the IFP – were acting without her blessing or consent. Over the course of two years she repeatedly insisted she did not want the IFP presidency and publicly condemned the divisive activities of her supporters as being contrary to her own belief system. She even voted to expel them from the IFP.
Things were moving towards an inevitable point of no return for Magwaza-Msibi, as she realized she would have to account for her lies. Three days before the hearing she took a desperate step, approaching the High Court to prevent us from holding the hearing. The Pietermaritzburg High Court dismissed her application with costs. It was clear that Magwaza-Msibi’s disciplinary hearing would go ahead and she would have to face the music. She complained that it was a foregone conclusion that she would be expelled.
So, her leaving to start her own Party had nothing to do with ill-treatment or persecution. It had to do with Magwaza-Msibi knowing that she had lied to her Party and it was about to catch up with her. Even after her court loss, we still did not close the door on her. Had she been in any way inclined, we could have explored reconciliation. Those are the facts.
MR VELAPHI NDLOVU MP
DEPUTY NATIONAL CHAIRPERSON OF THE IFP
