Inkatha Freedom Party - History

History

Gatsha Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a former member of the ANC Youth League, founded the Inkatha National Cultural Liberation Movement (INCLM), which later became the IFP, in 1975. Buthelezi used a structure rooted in Inkatha (meaning "crown" in Zulu), a 1920s cultural organisation for Zulus established by Zulu King Solomon kaDinuzulu. The party was established in what is now KwaZulu-Natal, after which branches of the party quickly sprang up in the Transvaal, the Orange Free State and the Western Cape.

Because of Buthelezi's former position in the African National Congress, the two organisations were initially very close and each supported the other in the anti-apartheid struggle. However, by the early 1980s the IFP had come to be regarded as a thorn in the side of the ANC, which wielded much more political force through the United Democratic Front (UDF), than the IFP and the Pan Africanist Congress. Although the IFP leadership favoured non-violence, as opposed to the ANC, which had created the Umkhonto we Sizwe, there is clear evidence that during the time that negotiations were taking place in the early 1990s, Inkatha and ANC members were at war with each other, and Self-Protection Units (SPUs) and Self-Defence Units (SDUs) were formed, respectively, as their protection forces.

As a Homeland leader, the power of Buthelezi depended on the South African state and economy. With anti-apartheid leaders inside South Africa and abroad demanding sanctions, Buthelezi came to be regarded more and more as a government puppet, along with other Bantustan leaders. His tribal loyalties and focus on ethnic interests over national unity were also criticised as contributing to the divisive programme of the IFP. This led to a virtual civil war between Zulu loyalist supporters and ANC members in KwaZulu-Natal.

Fearing an erosion of his power, Buthelezi collaborated with the South African Defence Force and received military training for Zulu militia from SADF special forces starting in the 1980s as part of Operation Marion. IFP members were involved in several massacres in the run-up to South Africa's first democratic elections, including the Trust Feed massacre on December 3, 1988 and the Boipatong massacre on June 17, 1992.

During the phase of establishing a constitution for South Africa and prior to the first free elections in South African history, bloodshed frequently occurred between the IFP and the ANC. Both the IFP and ANC attempted to campaign in each other's KwaZulu-Natal strongholds, and were met with resistance, sometimes violent, by members of the opposing party. The IFP was also initially opposed to parts of the proposed South African constitution regarding the internal politics of KwaZulu, and, in particular, they campaigned for an autonomous and sovereign Zulu king, (King Goodwill Zwelethini kaBhekuzulu), as head of state. As a result, the IFP abstained from registering its party for the 1994 election (a necessity in order to receive votes), in opposition. However, once it became obvious that its efforts were not going to stop the election (the IFP's desired goal), the party was registered at the eleventh hour. However, due to their opposition to the constitution, concessions were made and KwaZulu-Natal (and thus all the other provinces) were granted double ballots for provincial and national legislatures, greater provincial powers, the inclusion of 'KwaZulu' in the official name of the province (formerly 'Natal') and recognition of specific ethnic and tribal groups within the province.

On election day, the IFP displayed its political strength by taking the majority of the votes for KwaZulu-Natal.