By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) NEC member Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has retracted her vote buying claims levelled against her fellow comrade Ronald Lamola.
Dlamini-Zuma has accused Lamola and Fikile Mbalula of dishing out money ahead of the 2017 and 2022 ANC Elective Conferences.
During the ANC’s 2017 national conference, president Cyril Ramaphosa was accused of using R1 billion to secure the party presidency.
Ramaphosa won 2,440 votes to Dlamini-Zuma’s 2,261.
She said a circulating audio recording directly implicated Lamola in these transactional activities.
Responding to the allegations, Lamola categorically denied any involvement in vote-buying through phone calls, voice notes, or any other medium at any point in his career.
While emphasising his respect for Dlamini-Zuma’s liberation struggle credentials, Lamola made it clear that a formal retraction is necessary to avoid escalating the matter legally.
In a post on X, the ANC veteran said, “during my participation in the African Renaissance Podcast, I attributed a voice note to comrade Ronald Lamola. Comrade Lamola has since advised me that the voice was not his. I withdraw the attribution on the basis of his clarification.”
Dlamini-Zuma insists that the concerns she raised regarding the influence of money in the party’s leadership contests remain an important matter that must be addressed for the renewal and integrity of her political home.
Dlamini-Zuma is a prominent politician and anti-apartheid activist who has been a member of the African National Congress (ANC) for decades.
She was born in KwaZulu-Natal, and after finishing school, she obtained her BSc from the University of Zululand and her MBChB from the University of Bristol in the UK.
In the 1970s, she was active in the Black Consciousness Movement and served as the Deputy President of the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO).
She later went into exile, practising medicine while contributing to underground ANC networks abroad. Since 1994, Dlamini-Zuma has served in the cabinet of every post-apartheid South African president.