Durban — The struggling NFP, led by Ivan Barnes, has suffered another legal blow after the Labour Court ruled in favour of the party’s former national administrator, Obed Ngcamu, in a long-running legal dispute.
The court ruled that the NFP must pay Ngcamu R1.2 million, in back pay for the work he had done as the party’s national administrator between 2013 and 2017.
Reacting to the court victory, Ngcamu told the Daily News that he was happy that the court ruled in his favour.
“First and foremost, I did not want the matter to be dragged to court, but I had no option but to take this route as the party leaders were not budging when I told them about my issue.
“I am happy that the court has ruled in my favour. The NFP should now pay me what is due to me,” said Ngcamu.
In spite of the legal sparring with the party, Ngcamu said he remained a member of the NFP.
“All I wanted was justice,” he said.
While the court ruled that the NFP had to pay Ngcamu R1.2m, a senior party leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “I doubt that the party will be able to pay such an amount. It does not have that kind of money.”
Attempts to obtain a comment from party leader Barnes were unsuccessful as he did not respond to calls or a request for comment which was sent to him.
The NFP, formed by the late Zanele KaMagwaza-Msibi in 2011, has been facing legal snags between warring party senior party leaders, including the ongoing legal brawl between Barnes and the secretary-general Nhlanhla “Teddy” Thwala.
Barnes and Thwala, including other leaders, 15 in total, were locked in a bitter legal battle stemming from the letters of suspension that Barnes had written to the leaders, including Zandile Myeni, the deputy mayor of eThekwini in July.
Twelve of the 15 leaders fought back, dragging Barnes to court, arguing that he did not have the powers to suspend party leaders, alleging that he was not a legitimate party leader.
The Pietermaritzburg High Court clipped Barnes’s wings, ordering him not to suspend other party leaders until his legitimacy as party leader was tested in court. Also in the firing line was Nongoma mayor Mshangane Ndabandaba.
The NFP, which has been rocked by a series of internal squabbles, which have threatened to tear the party apart, is a key member of the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU).
The GPU was formed after the May elections failed to produce a clear winner after the ANC, which had governed the province fron 2004, lost its majority.
The NFP was also facing financial woes. In 2016, it failed to pay the Independent Electoral Commission of SA the money to contest the local government elections, resulting in the party being barred from contesting.
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