Lamola demands Dlamini-Zuma retract vote-buying allegations
SOUTH AFRICA — Minister of international relations and co-operation Ronald Lamola has demanded that former African Union chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma retract...
SOUTH AFRICA — Minister of international relations and co-operation Ronald Lamola has demanded that former African Union chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma retract vote-buying allegations that he says link him to the ANC’s 54th national conference in 2017. In an open letter posted on social media, Lamola said the remarks were “concerning and disappointing.”
The dispute now puts two senior ANC figures on a sharper collision course. Lamola has also warned that he may take legal action if Dlamini-Zuma does not withdraw the claims.
What Lamola said
Lamola said he was responding to comments Dlamini-Zuma made on the African Renaissance Podcast with Mbuyiseni Ndlozi. He wrote: “I have noted with concern and disappointment the remarks you made recently on a podcast with Dr Ndlozi. You are a leader I have long held in high esteem throughout my years of activism in the African National Congress. These comments seek to associate my name with alleged vote-buying activities during the ANC’s 54th national conference in 2017.”
He denied any involvement and asked Dlamini-Zuma to bring the matter into the party’s internal structures. SABC News reported that Lamola also requested a public retraction and apology, while warning of legal action if she refused.
How the row started
Dlamini-Zuma made the remarks while reflecting on her failed bid for the ANC presidency at the party’s 54th national conference in Nasrec, where Cyril Ramaphosa defeated her and became ANC president. In the podcast interview, she suggested money may have shaped the result.
“I thought I was going to win, but maybe money, maybe, I don’t know,” she said.
SABC News said Dlamini-Zuma also alleged that a voice note said to be from Lamola had circulated, and that money had played a major role in ANC contests. Another report said she named Lamola and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula among leaders she alleged handed out money during campaigns linked to the 2017 and 2022 elective conferences.
Why it matters inside the ANC
The exchange lands in sensitive territory for the ANC, where leadership contests have long been shadowed by claims about money, factional influence and delegate pressure. Lamola’s decision to go public signals that he wants the accusation confronted head-on, not left to float online or in podcast clips.
For the party, the fight is awkward. It drags old contest wounds back into view and risks deepening mistrust between senior figures who still occupy major roles in the movement. It also raises the stakes for any internal response, since Lamola has now tied the matter to the possibility of court action.
Lamola said he had held Dlamini-Zuma “in high esteem” for years, but added that her comments had forced him to respond. “I categorically deny a”
