ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has strongly denied allegations that he used money to influence delegates during the party’s 54th and 55th National Conferences, saying he has instructed his lawyers to seek clarity from former minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma over her remarks.
In a statement issued in his personal capacity on Tuesday, Mbalula said he was deeply hurt by comments made by Dlamini-Zuma during the African Renaissance Podcast on August 3, in which she allegedly referred to the use of money at the ANC’s national conferences.
He rejected the allegations in their entirety, insisting that he had never distributed money to delegates at a venue referred to as “the clinic” or anywhere else to secure his own election or that of any other ANC leader.
Mbalula said he had never used money to influence the outcome of any ANC conference, council or gathering and dismissed suggestions that the party’s current leadership was elected through vote-buying.
He maintained that he was elected freely and fairly as ANC secretary-general at the party’s 55th National Conference at Nasrec in December 2022.
According to Mbalula, the election was conducted by secret ballot in line with the ANC Constitution and overseen by an Electoral Commission appointed and endorsed by conference delegates.
He noted that representatives from every province and each of the ANC’s four leagues served on the commission, adding that no branch, region, province or league challenged the outcome at the time or in the years that followed.
Mbalula said any ANC member with evidence of wrongdoing should present it through the party’s internal processes, including the Integrity Commission, rather than make unsubstantiated public allegations.
He also confirmed that he had consulted his legal representatives to seek clarity from Dlamini-Zuma over what he described as damaging and painful allegations against him.
Mbalula urged ANC members and South Africans not to allow the controversy to divert attention from the party’s preparations for the local government elections scheduled for November 4, saying the movement’s priority remained campaigning in communities across the country.