DURBAN, Friday 28 August 2026 — Former ANC presidential contender Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has refused to withdraw allegations that Fikile Mbalula paid delegates to support Cyril Ramaphosa at the party’s closely contested 2017 leadership conference, setting up a potential court battle with the ANC secretary-general during the final stages of preparations for November’s local government elections.
Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement on Thursday that she stood by comments made during a recent podcast interview and was prepared to defend them in court after Mbalula served her with legal papers demanding a retraction and apology.
Mbalula has denied the allegation and described it as defamatory.
No court has found that Mbalula bought votes at the ANC’s 2017 national conference, and Dlamini-Zuma’s allegations remain unproven.
The dispute concerns the conference at Nasrec at which Ramaphosa narrowly defeated Dlamini-Zuma to succeed Jacob Zuma as ANC president.
Ramaphosa received 2,440 votes against Dlamini-Zuma’s 2,261, a margin of 179 votes.
Dlamini-Zuma recently alleged on the African Renaissance Podcast that money was distributed to delegates to influence the outcome and specifically accused Mbalula of participating in the alleged vote-buying effort on Ramaphosa’s behalf.
Mbalula has rejected that account and has now taken formal legal steps seeking to have the accusation withdrawn.
Dlamini-Zuma’s decision not to retract the allegation means the disagreement between two senior African National Congress figures could move from an internal political dispute into litigation.
The former Cabinet minister said she would defend her statements should Mbalula proceed with a court case.
The dispute follows a separate controversy involving Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Ronald Lamola.
Dlamini-Zuma had made similar allegations concerning Lamola’s role during the 2017 conference but subsequently apologised to him.
She has not extended that retraction to Mbalula.
The allegations revive questions surrounding money and lobbying at ANC elective conferences, where contests for senior positions have repeatedly generated claims about the use of financial inducements.
Those concerns have also featured in the ANC’s own internal discussions about organisational renewal and the conduct expected of members during leadership contests.
The timing creates an additional complication for Mbalula because he is currently overseeing the ANC’s preparations for the 4 November local government elections.
Friday is the final day for political parties and independent candidates to submit their municipal candidate nominations to the Electoral Commission of South Africa.
The deadline falls at 17:00, and the ANC has spent much of this week finalising and ratifying more than 10,000 prospective councillor candidates while dealing with internal disputes over lists in several provinces.
Mbalula has also been centrally involved in the party’s mayoral selection process, including the unresolved contest between Frank Chikane, Dada Morero and Loyiso Masuku for the ANC’s Johannesburg mayoral nomination.
The legal dispute does not directly affect the validity of the ANC’s municipal candidate lists or Mbalula’s position as secretary-general.
Its political significance instead lies in a former senior ANC leader and presidential candidate publicly accusing the official now responsible for running the party’s national organisation of improperly influencing the conference that elected South Africa’s current president.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma served in several Cabinet portfolios and was chairperson of the African Union Commission before contesting the ANC presidency in 2017.
Fikile Mbalula became ANC secretary-general at the party’s 2022 national conference and is responsible for the party’s day-to-day political and organisational administration.
Ramaphosa’s 2017 victory ultimately led to his election as South African president after Zuma resigned in February 2018.
The latest dispute does not challenge the legal validity of that conference result.
If Mbalula proceeds with litigation, the central question will instead be whether Dlamini-Zuma can substantiate the specific allegations she has made about his conduct.
Until then, the allegations and Mbalula’s denial remain competing claims between two of the ANC’s most senior figures from the period surrounding one of the closest leadership elections in the party’s history.
