News24 | High Court orders KZN legislature to swear in Ivan Barnes, but Mbali Shinga won’t go quietly

Embattled National Freedom Party member and KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Social Development, Mbali Shinga, has suffered a legal setback after the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg.

Mbali Shinga/Facebook

• Judge Bongani Mngadi ordered KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Speaker Nontembeko Boyce to declare Mbali Shinga’s seat vacant and swear in Ivan Barnes as the National Freedom Party’s replacement MPL.
• Shinga’s lawyer confirmed she will file for leave to appeal within 25 days, but for now, the status quo remains.
• The party’s single seat is the linchpin of KwaZulu-Natal’s government of provincial unity.
• For more political news, visit News24 Politics.

Embattled National Freedom Party (NFP) member and KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Social Development, Mbali Shinga, has suffered a legal setback after the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday paved the way for party president Ivan Barnes to be sworn in as a member of the provincial legislature.

In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, Judge Bongani Mngadi directed that the speaker of the provincial legislature, Nontembeko Boyce, proceed with declaring Shinga’s seat vacant and swear in the next candidate on the NFP’s reviewed party list – Barnes.

The ruling is a blow for Shinga, who in June secured an interim court order blocking her removal from both the legislature and the party.

Shinga’s lawyer, Sithembiso Mbhele, told News24 that she had instructed him to file for leave to appeal.

“She has instructed us to forge ahead with the leave to appeal today’s judgment. We have 25 days within which to do so. However, we will try to move with speed to try and make sure that at least we are able to expedite the process,” said Mbhele.

“Right now the status quo remains, but we will try our best to make sure that we are able to save our client’s career and also make sure that the outcome of today’s challenge does not have any legal effect as and when we file that leave to appeal today’s ruling.”

READ | Mbali Shinga successfully blocks NFP expulsion, legislature removal

The court further ordered the speaker to act in compliance with Rule 14 of the Standing Rules of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature, “including the publication of, and the swearing in of, the next candidate on the applicant’s reviewed party list”.

The NFP was cited as the applicant, with Shinga and Boyce as the first and second respondents.

Advocate Zweli Zakwe, Muntu Sithole and Barnes were listed as the third, fourth and fifth respondents, respectively.

Barnes welcomed the judgment, accusing Shinga of turning to the courts to validate her defiance of the party.

“You cannot defy, undermine and disrespect your organisation and its constitution with the hope that you’re going to rush to courts so the courts can save you and promote your ill-discipline.”

Barnes said the party plans to hold a press conference on Thursday to announce the way forward.

Boyce was not immediately available for comment. Her response will be added once she replies.

READ | KZN government ‘intact’ as Mbali Shinga takes NFP expulsion to court

The ruling is the latest twist in a bitter power struggle that has divided the NFP for months, pitting Shinga, who is the party’s KwaZulu-Natal chairperson, against Barnes, its national president.

At the heart of the conflict is Shinga’s refusal in December 2025 to obey a party directive to support a motion of no confidence against Premier Thami Ntuli.

The motion, sponsored by the MK Party, was widely seen as a manoeuvre by a Barnes-aligned faction to force Shinga out and clear the way for Barnes to enter the legislature.

In June, News24 reported that the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg ruled in Shinga’s favour, with Judge Thina Siwendu finding that she remained a member of both the legislature and the NFP, pending the determination of a legal review of her expulsion and removal.

Though the NFP holds only one seat in the legislature, it is a vital cog in the fragile coalition government in KwaZulu-Natal. Without it, the government of provincial unity would collapse.