Former minister and African Union (AU) chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s claims of vote-buying at African National Congress (ANC) conferences have rattled the party’s Veterans’ League, which has questioned why she kept the allegations to herself instead of reporting them through the organisation’s integrity committee.
Veterans’ League president, Snuki Zikalala described Dlamini-Zuma’s decision to publicly raise the allegations as “disappointing”, particularly with the ANC preparing for the upcoming local government elections.
Dlamini-Zuma raised the allegations during an interview on the African Renaissance Podcast, hosted by podcaster Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, where she spoke about the state of the ANC and its internal processes.
Zikalala told Sunday World that if Dlamini-Zuma had knowledge of vote-buying dating back to 2024, she should have taken the matter to the party’s Integrity Commission rather than discussing it publicly years later.
“If she knew this information all along, why did she just not inform the Integrity Committee of what was happening? I mean, she says it was in 2024, why did she keep quiet?” Zikalala asked.
He said the allegations were serious enough to warrant investigation but questioned the decision to raise them publicly at a time when the ANC was gearing up for an election campaign.
Dlamini-Zuma’s claims damaging ANC’s election campaign
“We are going to elections. Why would she decide to bring this matter up?” Zikalala asked.
Zikalala’s criticism comes as the ANC attempts to rebuild its electoral fortunes after suffering its biggest electoral setback in the 2024 national elections, when it lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since the dawn of democracy.
The party is now preparing for the local government elections while operating within the Government of National Unity and facing growing competition from opposition parties. Zikalala warned that public allegations of wrongdoing involving the ANC’s internal electoral processes could damage the organisation’s image and provide ammunition to its political opponents.
He said this was particularly concerning because the allegations related to the party’s conferences, where delegates elect its leadership and determine its political direction.
The issue is also politically sensitive given Dlamini-Zuma’s own history in the ANC’s leadership contests.
In 2017, she went head-to-head with Cyril Ramaphosa for the ANC presidency at the party’s 54th National Conference at Nasrec. Ramaphosa narrowly defeated her.
Ahead of the 2017 Nasrec conference, there were public allegations about money influencing delegates and the outcome of the leadership race.
Speaking to Ndlozi, Dlamini-Zuma reflected on her unsuccessful presidential campaign at the ANC’s 2017 national conference, stating that she had expected to win but now believes that money may have influenced the outcome.
She then alleged there was vote buying at the party’s 2022 elective conference. She added that Fikile Mbalula “dished” out money to secure his spot as the secretary-general of the party while the money was also meant to ensure President Ramaphosa’s re-election as the organisation’s leader.
Dlamini-Zuma’s claims should be settled in court
Mbalula has already responded to these allegations, labelling Dlamini-Zuma’s remarks as erratic. He was speaking on the sidelines of the ANC NEC meeting which was held almost two weeks ago when he said that matters should be referred to the party’s integrity commission.
“Comrade Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is the leader of this National Executive Committee, and you wouldn’t expect such erratic actions from her their part. You will expect that a person of her standing would have raised the matters formally in the organisation and allowed the integrity commission to deal with those matters.”
“When you denigrate and deal with the integrity of an individual and also in public, there is a choice in the context of the South African Constitution that the matters must be settled in court,” adds Mbalula.
Dlamini-Zuma has remained a prominent and sometimes critical voice within the ANC despite no longer occupying a senior government position.
Her utterances also come against the backdrop of continuing tensions over the direction of the governing party, with members and former leaders increasingly speaking publicly about internal problems that would traditionally have been dealt with behind closed doors.
- Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma accused the ANC of vote-buying at its 2022 elective conference and alleged money influenced the 2017 leadership race.
- The ANC Veterans’ League president, Snuki Zikalala, criticized Dlamini-Zuma for not reporting the allegations to the party's Integrity Commission and raising them publicly.
- Zikalala expressed concern that the public allegations could damage the ANC's image amid preparations for local government elections following the 2024 national elections.
- Fikile Mbalula responded by calling Dlamini-Zuma’s remarks erratic and stated such matters should be handled by the party's Integrity Commission or settled in court.
- Dlamini-Zuma made the allegations during an interview on the African Renaissance Podcast, hosted by Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, reflecting on internal issues within the ANC.
