KZN Premier Ntuli Survives MK Party No-Confidence Vote as Legislature Descends into Chaos
PIETERMARITZBURG, 15 December 2025. KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli survived a motion of no confidence brought by the uMkhonto weSizwe Party on Monday, with the motion failing by a margin of 40 votes to 39 in the 80-seat legislature, in a session that descended into physical confrontation and...
KZN Premier Ntuli Survives MK Party No-Confidence Vote as Legislature Descends into Chaos
PIETERMARITZBURG, 15 December 2025. KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli survived a motion of no confidence brought by the uMkhonto weSizwe Party on Monday, with the motion failing by a margin of 40 votes to 39 in the 80-seat legislature, in a session that descended into physical confrontation and required police intervention.
The MK Party, which received the largest share of votes in KwaZulu-Natal in the May 2024 general elections but was excluded from the provincial government by a coalition of the ANC, Democratic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party, and National Freedom Party, had tabled the motion in a bid to wrest control of the province and its approximately R158 billion budget. The motion required support from the EFF and the NFP's single Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) to pass.
The critical vote came down to NFP MPL Mbali Shinga, who defied her party's direction and voted against the motion. Shinga was quoted as saying: "True leadership is not in a moment of excitement, but in restraint." Her defection denied MK the majority it needed, with the Government of Provincial Unity coalition, comprising the IFP (15 seats), ANC (14 seats), DA (11 seats), and the NFP's one representative, holding 40 seats against 39 for the opposition.
Former President Jacob Zuma, who leads the MK Party, attended the proceedings briefly between 11:58 a.m. and 12:58 p.m. before departing. After the Speaker, Nontembeko Boyce, announced the motion had failed, MK members engaged in sustained disruption, banging tables, stomping feet, and confronting police officers, for more than an hour. A scuffle broke out when MK members rejected the result and sought to block Speaker Boyce's exit from the chamber; she was reported to have been manhandled in the melee. An MK Party MPL, Ntombi Beatrice Zama Cele, collapsed during the commotion and was treated by paramedics on site. The session was subsequently adjourned.
The MK Party said it would continue to challenge the provincial government's legitimacy. KZN is South Africa's second-most populous province and the heartland of the Zulu nation, making it a critical political battleground.
The KwaZulu-Natal Government of Provincial Unity was formed following the 2024 elections, in which the MK Party won approximately 45% of the provincial vote but was excluded from power after the ANC and its coalition partners declined to enter negotiations with it.