Deputy President Paul Mashatile has confirmed the ANC was working to restore its relationship with the IFP, including restoring the late Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s membership of the governing party.
A reconciliation between the two parties was one of Buthelezi’s wishes before he passed away.
This comes in the wake of a leaked instruction from the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal to its members and leaders in the province to refrain from publishing negative comments about the late former leader of the IFP.
Buthelezi died on Saturday, aged 95.
In a letter from the Office of the Chief Whip in the provincial caucus dated September 9, 2023, signed by Zenzele Msomi, all political staff and members of the provincial legislature are advised to “refrain from posting messages depicting any negative comments against the late Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi as it will result in tensions between the ANC and IFP”.
When IOL asked Msomi to confirm the authenticity of the directive, he said the letter was “an internal communication”.
President of the IFP Velenkosini Hlabisa told an ANC delegation led by Mashatile that the ball was in the ANC’s court with regards to the reconciliation project.
Mashatile later told the media that they were working on it before Buthelezi died and the office of the secretary-general was working on restoring Buthelezi's ANC's membership, as that was one of his wishes.
Meanwhile, spokesperson of the Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Foundation Keith Musa Zondi said the foundation had noted negative comments about the late leader’s legacy.
“As the custodian of his legacy, the Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Foundation will certainly respond at the appropriate time to ensure that the truth once again takes precedence. But for now, we pray that all those who loved Prince Buthelezi will be allowed the space to deal with our grief,” Zondi said in a statement.
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