-
Former MK Party secretary-general Bongani Mncwango (middle) is pictured in Durban after officially joining the Inkatha Freedom Party on 08 April 2026.
Former uMkhonto we Sizwe Party (MK Party) secretary-general Dr Bongani Mncwango has joined the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).
IFP President Velenkosini Hlabisa introduced him as a new party member at a press briefing in Durban.
Mncwango was axed by the MK Party in March after he was appointed as the secretary-general in August last year.
After being removed from his position as Secretary-General of the Umkhonto we Sizwe party last month without explanation, Mncwango has left the party. Of the four parties he approached, he believes the IFP is the best fit, given its stability and growth.
“Looking at the depth and fabric of each politics, looking at the experience in politics, looking at the level of stability within that organisation, looking at the potential growth within that organisation going forward, and looking at the leadership, the IFP actually crossed Jordan when it came to my decision.”
For the IFP the move couldn’t have come at a better time. Party leaders believe Dr Mncwango’s experience will bolster the party’s efforts to expand its footprint ahead of the local goverment elections.
Hlabisa says Mncwango’s decision to join the party is an affirmation of the growing confidence that people have in the IFP.
Since 2021, the IFP has won over 44 by-elections, achieving a clean sweep in the last five by-elections in the province.
And its preparations for the upcoming elections are now in full swing.
Hlabisa says, “His expertise and strategic insight will significantly strengthen the ifp as we intensify our mobilisation efforts ahead of the upcoming local government elections. his decision to join the ifp is not incidental – it is a clear affirmation of the growing confidence in the ifp as a credible, principled, and value-driven political home.”
Mncwango would not be drawn into giving his reasons for leaving the MKP. For now, he is an ordinary member of the IFP but Hlabisa did not rule out the possibility of Mncwango being given given some responsibility within the party leadership in future.
-Additional reporting by Zanele Buthelezi
