 In the 1995 municipal elections, Hlabisa was elected a municipal councillor for the town of Hlabisa.He continuously served as a municipal councillor for twenty-four years, during which he was Mayor of the Big Five Hlabisa Local Municipality from 2016 to 2019.He was elected to the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature in May 2019 and was given the title of Leader of the Opposition due to the IFP reclaiming the title of the second-largest party in the province.