The NFP was formed by the late Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi - she had previously served as the IFP’s national chairperson but broke away from Buthelezi’s party in 2011.
ULUNDI - Despite well documented tensions between the Inkatha Freedom Party and its splinter party, the National Freedom Party, NFP members have joined those praising Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi for his political contributions to the country.
They too are expected to join mourners throughout the rural town of Ulundi who will form a guard of honour as Buthelezi’s remains make their way back home on Friday afternoon. A bitter rivalry between the two also saw the NFP winning control of IFP strongholds during its peak.A councillor serving the smaller party, Mbongiseni Zungu, said the NFP was closely tied to Buthelezi.
"The reality is our late president was inkathi before starting the NFP, so she drew a lot of lessons and energy from the prince, so that when she passed, we also had learned a lot - so Shenge’s passing claimed a leader.""We are hurting because the prince paved a political journey for us - we would have not been in politics if it was not for him."
The views expressed by many in Buthelezi’s hometown are at odds with critics, who blame the statesman for the bloody conflict leading up to the 1994 democratic breakthrough.
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