The IFP has rejected allegations that it is plotting to assassinate EFF secretary-general Marshall Dlamini following a collapse in coalition talks between the two parties.
EFF leader Julius Malema announced at the weekend that the party would cut ties with the IFP and urged members to support all motions of no confidence against IFP mayors. On Tuesday, the EFF alleged that it has been alerted by the police that senior IFP members are gunning for Dlamini’s head.
It said “reliable intelligence reports” reveal that IFP leaders believe Dlamini is solely responsible for the party’s decision to activate motions of no confidence against IFP mayors in several municipalities in the province.
Reacting to EFF accusations, IFP national spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwas said this is “vile misinformation”, adding that the accusations are “sensationalist, unsubstantiated and fabricated”.
“This is classical historical ANC playbook stuff – false narratives, victimhood, and wherein they bring the security forces on-side and then accuse third parties of doing what they themselves are about to do,” he said.
“The EFF’s delusions of grandeur have come full circle in the face of a brewing internal revolt emanating out of its decision to restore the ANC into power.”
Hlengwa said the EFF exaggerated its influence, thinking the partying of ways would spell disaster for the IFP.
“Where we must warn the EFF, however, is when it begins pressing on the old wounds of our people with no regard for the pain that this causes. The allegations are inflammatory and dangerous politicking.
“They have produced nothing whatsoever to back this serious claim, which the IFP now demands [that it] be investigated by SAPS [police]. If SAPS genuinely knew of an assassination plot, and knew who was plotting it, they would have made arrests.”
Hlengwa said the IFP wants Police Minister Bheki Cele to clarify the allegations that the party is planning to assassinate Dlamini.
He added that the EFF’s plan to pull out from a co-governance agreement did not yield the result that the red berets had hoped for, hence they resorted to making “unfounded and extremely dangerous” allegations.
“They believed they could force the IFP into a position to hand over municipalities, but the IFP was unwilling to betray the trust of the communities that voted for us.
“Now that their plans have backfired, the EFF is making wild, unfounded and extremely dangerous accusations against the IFP. Furthermore, it is not lost on us that the EFF’s new-found love for the ANC is to enable grand looting and fundraising VBS style, ahead of its much-hyped 10th birthday celebrations in July.”
Hlengwa warned that the EFF’s behavior is disrespectful to the electorate, saying it resembles an abusive relationship “with people being the victims of a repugnant bully”.
“Now that these political opportunists realise that the IFP is the biggest challenger in KwaZulu-Natal for 2024, they have returned to their own vomit. Suddenly the IFP, with whom they happily worked until we refused to hand over governance of Umhlathuze, is an ‘agent of apartheid’ that ‘only thrives through violence’.
“This kind of flip-flopping is the unique brand of the EFF. Lest we forget the same Mr Malema who declared in 2021 that there is ‘no way’ the EFF is going to vote with the ANC, is now voting with the ANC.
“How can anyone trust a leadership that changes its mind at the drop of a hat? Whatever it says today will be contradicted tomorrow. The IFP will thus not be surprised when the EFF comes to us again after 2024 to apologise for the stupid things it is saying now, in the hope of strengthening its hand.”
Also read: EFF warns IFP not to settle political scores through violence
To read more political news and views, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here
