The MK Party’s motion of no confidence in KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli failed amid high drama in the legislature on Monday. First, MK Party and EFF members broke into a series of struggle songs for more than 20 minutes in protest against speaker Nontembeko Boyce’s ruling that the vote should be conducted openly. After more than an hour’s delay, order temporarily returned to the house following Boyce’s meeting with whips of the parties in the legislature, and the members were allowed to return.
However, after their return, members of the two parties resumed singing and were joined by MK Party members in the public gallery, including Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla and MK youth league leader Qiniso Cibane, when Boyce reiterated that voting would be done openly. She eventually announced that voting would start, and everyone sitting down would be counted as voting against the motion, while those standing at their designated seats would be counted as supporting the motion. The motion failed when all 40 members of the governing coalition — the ANC, DA, IFP and NFP — remained seated, leaving only the 39 members of the opposition standing.
Chaotic scenes then broke out between police, who were called to restore order, and members of the two opposition parties. MK Party members were seen blocking Boyce from leaving and attempting to block police from entering the chamber, resulting in a scuffle. Water bottles were thrown at police during the scuffle.
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MK Party member Ntombi Beatrice Zama Cele collapsed during the commotion and was treated by paramedics. Earlier, Bonginkosi Mngadi, MK Party chief whip, called for a secret ballot, saying there were threats against members.
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