OZINI, Wednesday 26 August 2026 — A new political party built largely around former IFP members and councillors is preparing to contest control of municipalities across northern KwaZulu-Natal, with former Jozini mayor Mfananaye Mathe selected to lead its campaign for the uMkhanyakude District Municipality in the 4 November local government elections.
The Jozini Congress plans to contest the uMkhanyakude district and all four of its local municipalities — Jozini, uMhlabuyalingana, Big Five Hlabisa and Mtubatuba — creating a new local challenge to the Inkatha Freedom Party in one of the party’s important KwaZulu-Natal support areas.
SABC News reported on Wednesday evening that the party is made up largely of disaffected IFP members and has attracted councillors who either fell out with established parties or did not return to their candidate lists.
The party is led by former IFP councillor Sibonelo Mathenjwa and was established in 2025 before registering with the Electoral Commission of South Africa.
Its most prominent recruit is Mathe, a former Jozini mayor and former IFP chairperson in the uMkhanyakude district.
Mathe left the IFP earlier this month and joined the Jozini Congress after previously being removed as Jozini mayor by his former party.
The IFP said when Mathe resigned that it had previously removed him from the mayoralty because of what national spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa described as shortcomings in his performance.
Mathe had also faced allegations of financial mismanagement during his tenure. Those allegations should not be treated as findings of criminal wrongdoing, and the available reporting does not establish that he has been convicted in relation to them.
The Jozini Congress has now identified Mathe as its mayoral candidate for the uMkhanyakude District Municipality, expanding the significance of his departure beyond an individual party defection.
The move places a former IFP mayor and district chairperson in direct competition with his former party across the same region in which he previously helped organise it.
Mathenjwa said the Jozini Congress was established in response to dissatisfaction with service delivery, particularly water provision and unemployment in uMkhanyakude.
The district borders Eswatini and Mozambique and has experienced persistent water-supply problems.
The new party is positioning those local service-delivery failures at the centre of its campaign rather than attempting an immediate province-wide expansion.
Mathenjwa said the organisation would initially concentrate on uMkhanyakude and its four constituent local municipalities.
That strategy could make the party more consequential than its size would suggest.
Community-based parties can influence municipal government without winning large shares of the provincial or national vote, particularly where no party secures an outright council majority.
Political analyst Zakhele Ndlovu told SABC News that smaller parties were increasingly positioning themselves to become potential coalition partners or kingmakers in municipalities expected to produce hung councils.
The contest is particularly relevant because northern KwaZulu-Natal is already becoming increasingly fragmented politically.
The IFP faces competition from the ANC, EFF, NFP and uMkhonto weSizwe Party, while local organisations such as the Jozini Congress are attempting to convert dissatisfaction with established parties into council representation.
MK Party structures in uMkhanyakude have also been recruiting traditional leaders and community figures for their municipal candidate lists, adding another competitor for voters in the district.
The emergence of the Jozini Congress is therefore significant not simply because another party will appear on the ballot, but because its organisation includes politicians with existing local networks and experience inside the party it is attempting to challenge.
The IFP currently holds substantial political influence across northern KwaZulu-Natal and will be seeking to protect that municipal base as it contests the first local government election since becoming part of the provincial government formed after the 2024 election.
Mathe’s candidacy will provide an early indication of whether experienced defectors can transfer personal and community support away from established parties or whether voters remain primarily loyal to party brands.
Political parties have until 17:00 on Friday, 28 August to submit their final candidate lists and registration documents to the IEC.
Once those lists are finalised, the extent to which the Jozini Congress has recruited sitting councillors and other former IFP representatives should become clearer.
The November result will then test whether the new organisation can translate those defections into council seats — and potentially alter coalition arithmetic in one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most politically competitive districts.
