Durban — Buoyed by his performance as an Independent candidate during the May elections, well-known comedian-cum-politician Thanasagren Rubbanathan Moodley has launched a new party, the 1860NIC Congress, to contest the 2026 local government elections.
Moodley, fondly known by his legion of fans as “KC” was one of the 11 independent candidates who contested the May elections and raked in more than 12 000 votes, taking the 7th spot in KZN.
He achieved this feat against a run-off with prominent and well-funded parties, including the DA, the ANC and the IFP.
Speaking to the Daily News about his new party, Moodley said: “It has only been two weeks since we announced the proposed formation of the party and the response has been positive.”
Even though he narrowly missed out on a seat in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature, Moodley emerged from the hotly-contested election high on confidence.
As he prepares the ground for 2026, Moodley believes that contesting under the banner of a political party would be rewarding for him at the polls.
“The first objective is to market the party to our core market and get their support. Educate them as to why we are the most viable option for them in terms of the next years of local government elections,” he said.
Explaining the name of his party, 1860NICC, he said the number 1860 relates to the landing of his “forefathers” in South Africa in the year 1860, “As slaves from India seeking a new life in a foreign land.”
“Today, less than 165 years later, the Indian community is an integral part of the very fabric of KZN and indeed the country,” said Moodley.
The NIC in his 1860NIC Congress is about the historical Natal Indian Congress (NIC) formed by Mahatma Gandhi on August 22, 1894, becoming the first political party to be formed in the country, he said.
“The original NIC and its leaders served as an inspiration to me, and accordingly, respect is afforded to the organisation and its former leaders, who were the original champions for the Indian community,” he said.
Moodley stressed that he was not trying to revive the defunct NIC, but the 1860NICC was a new party with its values and objectives.
The NIC became a rallying partner of the ANC during the decades-long fight against apartheid, which ultimately ended in 1994 when the country transitioned to democracy after the election of the late Nelson Mandela as the first democratically elected president.
Moodley said among his main priorities is to address the “flawed implementation of the B-BBEE policy, that discriminates against the Indian community and other minorities.”
He would also, “Ensure that Indians, as a previously disadvantaged community, are offered equal rights and opportunity as enshrined in the Constitution and Freedom Charter.
“Poor service delivery is not unique to Indian communities. However, there is a concern that ‘Indian areas’ may have been ignored, overlooked and victimised in the past,” said Moodley.
Youth development programmes would be part of his party’s rallying cry, he said.
With KZN having been a hotbed for racial intolerance between Indians and Blacks in previous years, Moodley has vowed to nurture and promote Indo-African relations in the province.
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