JOHANNESBURG, Tuesday 25 August 2026 — ANC National Executive Committee member Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has withdrawn her claim that a disputed voice recording linked International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola to alleged vote-buying at the party’s 2017 national conference, after Lamola denied the allegation and warned that he could take legal action.
Dlamini-Zuma said on Tuesday that she had attributed the voice note to Lamola during an appearance on the African Renaissance Podcast but had since been advised by him that the voice was not his. She withdrew that attribution on the basis of his clarification.
The withdrawal does not extend to Dlamini-Zuma’s broader criticism of the role of money in ANC leadership contests.
She said concerns about financial influence in internal party elections remained an important issue for the ANC’s renewal and integrity.
The dispute began after Dlamini-Zuma alleged during the podcast that money had influenced leadership contests at the ANC’s 2017 and 2022 national conferences.
She had specifically linked Lamola to an audio recording she said was associated with vote-buying during the 2017 conference, where Cyril Ramaphosa narrowly defeated Dlamini-Zuma for the ANC presidency.
Lamola rejected the allegation earlier this month, saying he had not been involved in vote-buying through voice notes, telephone calls or any other means.
He called on Dlamini-Zuma to retract the claim and apologise, saying he preferred that ANC internal mechanisms and direct engagement be exhausted before court proceedings were considered.
The retraction reduces the immediate legal dispute between Dlamini-Zuma and Lamola over the voice note, although it does not resolve wider allegations she made about money influencing ANC leadership contests.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has separately denied allegations made by Dlamini-Zuma concerning the distribution of money at the party’s 2022 conference and has indicated that he was considering legal and internal party action. Dlamini-Zuma’s Tuesday statement did not withdraw allegations relating to Mbalula.
The controversy comes as the ANC prepares for the 4 November local government elections and has placed organisational renewal, candidate standards and internal discipline among its campaign themes.
The ANC has itself previously acknowledged concerns about the role of money in internal leadership contests, although that broader issue is separate from the specific allegation against Lamola that Dlamini-Zuma has now withdrawn.
Any further development will depend on whether Lamola considers the retraction sufficient and whether the separate dispute involving Mbalula proceeds through the courts or ANC disciplinary structures.
