Inkatha Freedom Party

Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP - Left freedom) is a preserving political party with dominant Zoulou of South Africa founded in 1975 by the prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

Inkatha was founded in 1975 by Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a former member of the league of youth of ANC and chief of the territorial authority of the KwaZulu. Resulting from the " Farming National Inkatha Movement" Release; , the party plunges its roots in the cultural organization Inkatha founded in 1920 by the king Solomon kaDinizulu in order to resist the dilution of the culture Zulu and to avoid the Impérialisme Britannique and the domination afrikaner.

" Inkatha" is a Zulu term indicating the stringcourse which one adjusts on his head in order to be able to transport various loadings.

Inkatha was born in the province from the Natal then was spread in the three other provinces.

At its beginnings, Inkatha is close to the ANC, then prohibited by the mode of Apartheid. The two organizations fight racial discrimination.

But the white governments could use the personal competitions between the black chiefs. Starting from 1976, Buthelezi is named Prime Minister for the autonomous Bantoustan of KwaZulu. For this reason, it has from now on the appearance of a collaborator of the mode of Apartheid for the most radical close relations of the black Conscience and Inkatha is then shown to be an army of back-up troops in the repression of the inhabitants of the ghettos in revolt.

Starting from 1980, the bonds between Buthelezi and the ANC are broken and Inkatha becomes a potential rival, constant in writing pad by the government.

At the end of the Eighties, Inkatha profits from the support more or less direct of the security forces and groups para white soldiers guaranteeing a certain impunity whereas a civil war makes rage with Native between Zulus of the ANC and those of Inkhata to them (more than 10 thousand dead).

With beginning of the year 90, during the constitutional negotiations, Inkatha joined the Conservative party of South Africa in the Alliance of Freedoms intended to make failure with the negotiations and to reinforce the idea of South Africa ethniquement and territorialement divided.

It is of accuracy that Inkhata joined in March 1994 the electoral process in progress after having obtained guarantees as for the Zulu maintenance of the specificity of the new province of the KwaZulu-Native : institutionalization of the role of the King Goodwill Zwelithini and statute of capital maintained with Ulundi (the capital of the Bantustan ) at the side of Pietermaritzburg, capital member of Parliament.

With the proclamation of the results, Inkhata obtains 10,5% of the voices at the national level and 43 deputies. Buthelezi is named Minister of Interior Department in the government of national union of Nelson Mandela. It will be maintained in all the governments which will follow in spite of many criticisms as for its action and its probity.

The province of KwaZulu-Native is gained by Inkhata with 50% of the votes (the electoral fraud seems to have helped the IFP to precede its rival of the ANC).

Of 1994 with 2004, the province is thus directed by a coalition IFP-ANC under the direction of a Prime Minister resulting from Inkatha.

In 1999, the IFP does not move back at the national level (8,9% of the votes and 37 deputies) and does not collect any more but 41,9% of the voices in its province.

In 2004, coalition ANC-IFP ends when Inkatha joined like partner the democratic Alliance in order to compete with the ANC.

In April 2004, the ANC seizes despite everything KwaZulu-Native and transfers the executive capital from Ulundi to Pietermaritzburg. Nevertheless, the IFP joined the provincial government directed from now on by the ANC. At the national level, the IFP does not emerge any more but to 7% of the votes for a total of 28 seats. It does not remain about it less the third greater party of South Africa.

Its political program remains however vague and the defense of specificity Zulu seems to have marked time these last years for the benefit of the defense of the private interests of the elected officials of the IFP.

External bond

Inkatha Freedom Party

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