STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO ALLEGATIONS MADE BY MR CHRIS NTULI

I have today been made aware of the venomous and false statements made by Mr Chris Ntuli, a former member of the Party, levelled against me through the media.

Let me state categorically that Mr Ntuli is nothing but a bitter young man.

When the Party had to retrench members of staff, following the 2011 Local Government Elections, he was one of the staff members whom we had to let go. When the Party could no longer afford his salary, his loyalty waned and he became a bitter man.

Mr Ntuli claims that the Party is now controlled by a clique, that I no longer wield any power and that there is no democracy within our ranks. These are simply the ramblings of a deluded young man.

The facts speak to the contrary.

In the interest of internal democracy, the National Council, the highest decision-making body of the IFP, took time out of its busy schedule to abide by the Party's Constitution and afford him an opportunity to air his views.

Views which he previously, instead of raising them within the internal structures of the Party as our Constitution requires, aired on social networks.

After hearing his case, the National Council through a secret ballot unanimously decided that Mr Ntuli was in contravention of Section 10.9 of the Party's Constitution.

His contraventions were found to be extremely serious. Not only did he admit to stealing some of my confidential documents, but above everything else, he called our Indian colleagues "coolies". In fact he stated that he hated Indian people. In a country such as ours that has suffered so much pain through racism we could not allow such remarks to be condoned. Such comments and behaviour are totally in contravention of the culture and procedures of the IFP.

The facts of the matter are simple. Mr Ntuli was an ordinary Party member who contravened the Party's Constitution and brought the IFP into disrepute. It is unfortunate that Mr Ntuli is now trying to make a spectacle out of his repulsive behaviour by feeding the media nothing but lies and fabricated nonsense.

Statement issued by Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, MP, President of the Inkatha Freedom Party, March 18 2012

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