Note to Editors: Please note Sakhile Mngadi, MPL sound bites in English and isiZulu
The DA in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) strongly condemns the disgraceful conduct of uMkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP) MPL, Smanga Mabaso, who earlier this week unlawfully entered KwaZenzele High School in Msinga clad in MK Party regalia, filmed the faces of learners and distributed MK-branded certificates. This brazen politicisation of a school is both illegal and unethical.
Mabaso’s actions – which have gone viral on social media – are in clear violation of the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996, which protects schools as apolitical spaces dedicated to teaching and learning. He has also flouted Circular 35 of 2025, which explicitly sets out that only members of KZN’s Education portfolio committee, authorised departmental officials and scheduled stakeholders may access schools.
Mabaso is not a member of the provincial Education portfolio committee and had no mandate to perform school oversight. His intrusion was political opportunism, not legitimate legislative work. There is a clear policy framework for anyone else who wishes to access school grounds during learning and contact hours to roll out certain programmes.
Equally alarming is the complicity of KwaZenzele High School’s principal, who permitted this conduct. By allowing party-branded materials into the school and enabling the filming of learners, the principal breached both departmental policy and obligations under the Employment of Educators Act, which requires the safeguarding of learners’ welfare. Msinga is a politically charged area and learners face the risk of victimisation from other political entities.
The act of filming and exposing children’s faces without parental consent is a serious breach of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Children’s identities are protected by law, and this reckless exposure places them at risk while exploiting them for propaganda.
The DA demands:
• Immediate disciplinary charges against the KwaZenzele High School principal for dereliction of duty;
• The referral of MPL Smanga Mabaso to the KZN Legislature Ethics Committee for abusing his position, politicising a school and bringing the Legislature into disrepute;
• A full report from KZN’s Department of Education (DoE) clarifying who authorised Mabaso’s visit, why Circular 35 was ignored and what corrective action will be taken and;
• A province-wide reminder to all principals that schools are not political stages, with reinforced training on Circular 35 to prevent future abuse.
As a member of KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), the DA will lodge formal complaints with both the KZN Department of Education and the Legislature’s Ethics Committee. Our children must never be reduced to political props. Schools are sanctuaries of learning, not playgrounds for opportunistic politicians.