Black First Land First | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | BLF |
| President | Andile Mngxitama |
| Deputy President | Zanele Lwana |
| Secretary General | Gandhi Baai |
| Treasurer General | Thandiswa Yaphi |
| Founded | 24 October 2015 |
| Split from | Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) |
| Student wing | BLF-Student Movement (BLF-SM) |
| Ideology | Pan-Africanism Sankarism[1] Revolutionary socialism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| National affiliation | uMkhonto we Sizwe |
| Colors | Red, Green and Black |
| National Assembly | 0 / 400 |
| National Council of Provinces | 0 / 90 |
| Website | |
| blf | |
Black First Land First (BLF) is a political movement and political party in South Africa. It was founded in 2015 by Andile Mngxitama following his expulsion from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by Julius Malema.
Mngxitama’s chief policy is ‘expropriation without compensation’ of white-owned land, which he declares to have been directly stolen from Africans. On this issue, he has accused EFF of selling out to the ANC, which he regards as too friendly to business interests. BLF has been supportive of South Africa’s ex-President Jacob Zuma, and has also shown support for the influential Gupta family. Some of its members have been accused of threatening investigative journalists.
In early-2019, the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) appealed to have the BLF deregistered. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officially annulled[2] the party registration on 15 July 2019 as a result of its violation of the Electoral Act, which prohibits limiting membership on the basis of race.[3][4] The Electoral Court dismissed BLF's appeal in November 2019 and upheld an earlier ruling that the organisation can not be registered as a political party.[5]
In November 2019, the movement decided to amend its constitution to allow Whites to be members of the movement.[6] In an interview a few days later, the movement's Zanele Lwana slammed the media for "deliberately reporting untruthfully on what happened" in the conference. It appears that the alleged amendment of the BLF constitution to allow Whites was false because BLF leader Andile Mngxitama confirmed that "Whites still not allowed in the party"[7] The movement's Deputy President said that the motive was more to allow its admittance on the IEC rather than to welcome Whites.
In November 2020, the BLF was re-registered as a political party by IEC.
In January 2024, party leader Andile Mngxitama announced that he had joined uMkhonto weSizwe, although he stated that BLF would not cease to exist, and that it was an electoral pact.[8]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
n24_launchwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Electoral Commission : News Article". www.elections.org.za.
- ^ FF+ gets BLF de-registered as a political party. Retrieved on 15 July 2019.
- ^ BLF registration as political party is unlawful, IEC rules. Retrieved on 15 July 2019.
- ^ Davis, Rebecca (5 November 2019). "ELECTORAL COURT: End of an error: BLF officially deregistered as political party". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Wonderful news for whites: you can join BLF - but Ts&Cs apply". TimesLIVE.
- ^ BLF Back | Whites still not allowed in the party: Mngxitama, retrieved 23 May 2022
- ^ Maliti, Soyiso. "Has Schabir Shaik joined Zuma's MK Party? One spokesperson says yes, another says no". News24. Retrieved 17 January 2024.