Despite the Inkatha Freedom Party’s (IFP) top leadership projecting unity before its crucial elective conference expected next year, factional tension in the party is increasingly spilling into the open.
The divisions were exposed after a widely circulated voice note in which Mncedisi Maphisa, the IFP Youth Brigade chairperson in KwaZulu-Natal, allegedly urged members aligned to his faction to use violence against rivals after a dispute at a branch meeting in Ulundi, northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Maphisa, who also chairs the KwaZulu-Natal legislature’s portfolio committee on transport, was reportedly reacting to claims that another faction had blockaded roads and prevented some members from attending a branch meeting.
The gathering formed part of efforts to restructure branches before the party’s long-awaited elective conference, with rival groupings competing for control of branch structures.
“You’re treating these people with kid gloves,” he allegedly says in the recording. “You’re a majority in Ulundi. Don’t give them breathing space. You must beat them up and cause havoc even during meetings. They are a minority. Our force should have … [gone] there and … [given] them a severe beating.”
The voice note, allegedly recorded in a conversation with another IFP member identified as Lindi, has intensified concerns over internal discipline and escalating factional conflict.
Maphisa, a former Abaqulusi mayor, is understood to be aligned to a faction known in IFP circles as the KKK, which backs Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi, the minister of public service and administration, to succeed party president Velenkosini Hlabisa. Hlabisa serves as minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs.
The group is also aligned to KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli, whom they have endorsed as Buthelezi’s deputy.
In the recording, Maphisa appears to reference political tactics attributed to Michael Khumalo, the mayor of Zululand district municipality and a prominent Hlabisa ally.
“When you’re in Abaqulusini, you can feel the atmosphere and wrath of umkhonyovu (Khumalo). Even when you try to embrace him, if he doesn’t like you, he has no mercy,” he says.
Khumalo is regarded as a strong Hlabisa ally and is tipped as a contender for the IFP KwaZulu-Natal chairpersonship, currently held by Ntuli. He is part of a grouping known as AU, which supports Hlabisa to retain the party presidency alongside Gauteng IFP chairperson Bonginkosi Dhlamini.
Maphisa is no stranger to controversy. In February 2023, he was removed as Abaqulusi mayor after another voice recording was leaked. In the message, he made sexist and threatening remarks towards municipal staff, referring to himself as the “only bull with balls”.
Internal stakes are rising before the IFP’s elective conference, which will be the party’s first since the death of founder and president emeritus Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
The party last held an elective conference in 2019, when Buthelezi endorsed Hlabisa as his successor, a decision that triggered internal dissatisfaction among some members.
Tension reportedly intensified after his death, as rival factions began positioning themselves for leadership contests.
The elective conference was initially expected in 2024, postponed to 2025 and has since been delayed again to a date yet to be announced.
In a statement, IFP spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said it had initiated an internal process to investigate Maphisa’s remarks.
“In line with the principle of audi alteram partem [hear the other side], Cde Maphisa has been formally requested to provide a full explanation to the party by close of business today, Tuesday, 05 May 2026,” Hlengwa said.
“The IFP calls on all members and supporters to remain calm and to refrain from engaging in further public commentary while this process is under way. Given the seriousness and potential implications of the contents of the recording, the party leadership is treating this matter with urgent priority.”
Leaked voice note allegedly involving IFP Youth Brigade leader Mncedisi Maphisa fuels factional tension before the party’s elective conference, prompting an internal investigation
