KZN Power Shift as ANC overhauls provincial leadership

By CHRIS MAKHAYE

The ANC NWC has announced a new leadership for KZN to reverse the electoral losses.

The ANC in KwaZulu‑Natal has changed the chairs again. Jeff Radebe is out. Mike Mabuyakhulu moves in. Sboniso Duma steps up. Bongi Sithole‑Moloi joins the leadership team, while James Nxumalo, former mayor of eThekwini Municipality and Siphile Mdaka, former mayor of the uMkhanyakude Municipality, joins in as coordinator and deputy coordinator respectively. The rest of the Provincial Task Team will be announced at a later stage.

This leadership reshuffle happened on Wednesday, 15 April 2026, after the National Working Committee met on Monday. The NWC decided Radebe’s time as convenor of the PTT had “done more damage than excellent.” Secretary‑General Fikile Mbalula couldn’t hide the failures of Radebe’s leadership, but added that Radebe would be deployed elsewhere in the party. (https://www.ewn.co.za/anc-removes-jeff-radebe-as-kzn-convenor-appoints-mike-mabuyakhulu/)

Division

Inside the province, few were surprised. One senior regional leader put it like this: “Radebe was an absent leader. He wanted to rule via remote control. Meanwhile, we are under siege from the MK Party, from the IFP.......we are under battering from everywhere. We need fighters on the ground, not managers on WhatsApp.” Other cadres said Radebe and Mabuyakhulu did not see eye to eye on how to rescue the organisation, and this division filtered down into the PTT itself.

Limping

Under Radebe, the PTT failed to rebuild branches and failed to hold regional conferences. Its main job was to prepare the ground for new regional leaders and eventually a provincial conference. All of that is now postponed until after the 2026 local government elections. The ANC goes into those elections limping: no elected provincial leadership, broken branches, members gone. Mabuyakhulu now holds the mop, while Nxumalo, Mdaka, Duma, Sithole‑Moloi and others carry the buckets.

By‑Elections

Ward 110 in eThekwini, April 2025, shocked Luthuli House — and also the DA headquarters in Cape Town. The DA had flown in heavyweights, including Helen Zille and former leader John Steenhuisen, to defend the ward. Still, they lost. In that by‑election, MKP beat the DA by 22 votes, 2,435 to 2,413. The ANC came third with 966.

In Ward 64 in south Durban, once an ANC stronghold, the party fell from 24 percent in the 2021 local government elections to 10 percent in a September 2025 by‑election. In Richmond, deep rural Midlands, MKP took 54 percent to the ANC’s 39 percent in a March 2025 by‑election. Newcastle, once coal country ANC territory, saw MKP take 46 percent in the 2024 general elections, with ANC reduced to 18 percent. Msunduzi, the provincial capital, saw ANC drop to 23 percent in the 2024 general elections, behind MKP and IFP. Richards Bay, once ANC‑run, has been IFP‑controlled since the 2021 local government elections, but MKP surged to 41 percent in the 2024 general elections, leaving ANC at 16 percent. Zululand is worse: ANC under 10 percent in March 2026 by‑elections, fourth behind MKP and IFP.

The electoral fortunes of the ANC has been diminishing over the years, more so in KZN.

Polls

The latest opinion polls, conducted by Ipsos and the HSRC in March and April 2026, confirm the trend. MKP leads with between 42 and 46 percent, IFP sits at 23 to 27 percent, ANC languishes at 15 to 18 percent, DA holds 7 to 9 percent, and the EFF trails at 3 to 5 percent.

Analyst

Independent analyst Zakhele Ndlovu says the reshuffle is about optics as much as substance: “The ANC wants to be seen to be doing something. But unless MKP tears itself apart over councillor positions, it is likely to take eThekwini and a large swathe of the Midlands. The ANC is likely to bleed wards and jobs for its cadres, further breaking the prestige and patronage that kept the party together in recent years.”

At the time of going to print, attempts to get a comment from Fanle Sibisi, KZN ANC spokesman, were not successful. But Nxumalo, the uMkhanyakude District Municipality

But James Nxumalo, speaking to Newzroom Afrika on Thursday, 16 April 2026, sharpened the stakes, warning that the ANC must “regain the ground” lost to what he called “counterrevolutionary parties.” He insisted the new task team would “hit the ground running” to counter rivals, casting the reshuffle as a fight to reclaim KwaZulu-Natal’s political terrain ahead of 2026.TQ

 Side bar

From 64% to 17%: ANC’s Rise and Fall in KZN

Very popular......Zuma's MK Party has uprooted the ANC in KZN

1994 General Election – Nelson Mandela

• ANC 32.2% | IFP 50.3% | NP 10.3%

• Premier: Ben Ngubane (IFP). Mandela’s new democracy saw the ANC struggle in KwaZulu‑Natal, where the IFP dominated.

1999 General Election – Thabo Mbeki

• ANC 39.4% | IFP 41.9% | DA 8.2%

• Premier: Lionel Mtshali (IFP). Under Mbeki, the ANC narrowed the gap but still fell short of taking the province.

2004 General Election – Thabo Mbeki

• ANC 47.0% | IFP 36.8% | DA 9.1%

• Premier: S’bu Ndebele. Mbeki’s second term delivered the breakthrough: the ANC finally secured KwaZulu‑Natal.

2009 General Election – Jacob Zuma

• ANC 62.9% | IFP 20.5% | DA 9.2%

• Premier: Zweli Mkhize. With Zuma at the helm, the ANC hit its peak in KZN, riding his local popularity.

2013–2016 – Jacob Zuma Factional battles saw Senzo Mchunu removed, replaced by Willies Mchunu, reflecting internal turbulence during Zuma’s presidency.

2019 General Election – Cyril Ramaphosa

• ANC 54.2% | IFP 16.3% | DA 13.9% | EFF 9.7%

• Premier: Sihle Zikalala, later replaced by Nomusa Dube‑Ncube. Ramaphosa inherited a still‑strong ANC in KZN, but cracks were beginning to show.

2021 Local Government Elections – Cyril Ramaphosa

• ANC lost Newcastle, Richards Bay, Zululand to IFP. The decline accelerated as the IFP regained ground.

2024 General Election – Cyril Ramaphosa

• ANC 17.0% | MKP 45.4% | IFP 24.2% | DA 7.9%

• Premier: Nomusa Dube‑Ncube. The ANC collapsed to third place, eclipsed by Jacob Zuma’s MK Party.

2025–2026 By‑Elections – Cyril Ramaphosa

• ANC struggles to break 20 percent; MKP and IFP expand.

Latest Opinion Polls (Ipsos & HSRC, April 2026)

• MKP 42–46% | IFP 23–27% | ANC 15–18% | DA 7–9% | EFF 3–5%

Zakhele Ndlovu: “Jacob Zuma remains hugely popular in KZN, and this is reflected in recent elections and polls. Unless the new leadership finds a way to counter that, they will fail.” TQ