MK party delivers another KZN blow to ANC, surges past IFP in competitive ward poll

1 May 2025

The uMkhonto Wesizwe party has won another ward off the ANC, while the latter was relegated to third place, finishing behind the IFP.

Ward 18 (iSithebe) Mandeni, iLembe: MK 42% IFP 30% (13%) ANC 27% (66%) EFF 1% (14%)

The setting: iSithebe is known for its industrial park. It is the historic centre of economic activity in Mandeni. The ward is above the N2 national road which links Durban with Richards Bay. It is north of Mandini, the seat of power in Mandeni and north of the Tugela River Mouth. Sugar cane and paper mills are the industries that have defined Mandeni. Musician and satirist Vusi Ximba was a son of the Mandeni soil.

The municipality forms part of the iLembe district which includes KwaDukuza, Ndwedwe and Maphumulo.

The 2021 local government election: The ANC was just shy of a two-thirds shutout in this ward. It beat both the EFF and the IFP by more than 50% respectively.

The ANC won more than 60% of the vote in all three voting districts. The more interesting contest was for second place, with the EFF beating the IFP by 10 votes.

The ANC won an outright majority in Mandeni, securing 19 of the 35 seats in the council. It did, however, lose six, with some ANC voters shifting to the IFP and others to the EFF. The IFP grew from seven to 10 seats while the EFF jumped from one to four. The DA and the African Independent Congress (AIC) retained a single seat each.

The 2024 provincial election: The MK party turned iSithebe on its head and won more than 70% of the vote. The ANC was a distant second with 16% after getting 69% here in 2019. The IFP was third with 9%, down a single percentage point. The EFF’s support in the ward all but collapsed as it could only manage 1%, after coming second in 2019 with 15%.

MK overperformed in iSithebe relative to the west of the municipality, but its performance was still extremely impressive, taking 61% of the vote. Despite the MK tsunami, the IFP was able to grow its vote share in Mandeni, from 10% to 17%. The ANC fell from 63% to 17% and was humbled to third place in an area it dominated in 2019. The DA finished in fourth place again, getting 2%, losing half of its percentage vote share. The EFF fell from second to fifth place, sliding from 19% to 2%.

The by-election: The ward councillor, Phendukani Mabhida, was murdered in his home by two gunmen, days after receiving a threatening phone call.

MK beat the IFP by 238 votes to win its first ward in Mandeni and its second ward seat in the iLembe district, following an impressive win in KwaDukuza a few weeks ago. MK swept all three voting districts, but it was far more competitive than 2024 when the party won by a landslide. The IFP more than tripled its support in the ward, with the ANC growing by 10%. However, compared with the 2021 result it is a grim picture for the ANC. It lost well over half of its support in the ward and finished behind the IFP.

Read more: By-elections hub

In 2021, the ANC won 67% of the vote at the iSithebe Community Hall. It could only manage 21% in this by-election, with the MK getting 42% and the IFP 37%, well up from the 11% return in 2021. While the ANC beat the IFP in the other districts, it was not enough to pass the IFP in the final tally. The EFF was well off the pace, only registering 1% support.

Poll: 48% (38%)

The next round of by-elections will be on 14 May when the ANC will defend a seat in Freedom Park in the Devland part of Soweto and a rural seat in Mpofana (Mooi River) in KwaZulu-Natal. Both the ANC and the Patriotic Alliance will fancy their chances of taking a seat off a local party, the Namakwa Civic Movement, in Nama Khoi (Springbok) in the Northern Cape. The DA will defend a safe seat in Stellenbosch. DM

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Ward 18 (iSithebe) Mandeni, iLembe: MK 42% IFP 30% (13%) ANC 27% (66%) EFF 1% (14%)