He previously served as the Secretary-General of the IFP from 2011 to 2017, as the Mayor of the Big Five Hlabisa Local Municipality from 2016 to 2019 and as the Leader of the Opposition in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature between 2019 and 2023.

[6] He joined the IFP Youth Brigade at the age of thirteen in 1978 and matriculated from high school in 1983.

In 2017, the IFP's Extended National Council unanimously endorsed Hlabisa to succeed Mangosuthu Buthelezi as party president.

Hlabisa was elected unopposed as the new leader of the IFP at the party's 35th National General Conference held in August 2019.

[16] Following the 2024 South African general election he now serves as the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.