Former Cabinet Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has questioned why ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula has targeted her over remarks made on a podcast hosted by Mbuyiseni Ndlozi while leaving the former EFF MP out of the legal battle.
Mbalula dragged Dlamini-Zuma to court after she alleged on Ndlozi’s podcast that the former ANCYL president paid delegates money at a clinic to be elected as the party’s secretary-general in 2022.
He denied the allegations and said they were not only defamatory but undermined his integrity as the party’s Luthuli House boss.
He dragged Dlamini-Zuma to court for defamation after she sneezed at his letter of demand to retract and apologise for her claims.
In her court papers, which she filed in the Joburg High Court last week, Dlamini-Zuma says Mbalula’s application is “procedurally defective, factually unsupported and substantively without merit”.
She argues that she had no control over Ndlozi’s podcast called African Renaissance Podcast and points out that the former Power FM talk show anchor , who hosted the podcast which flighted the remarks, has not been cited as a party to the proceedings.
“The host, Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi has not been joined,” Dlamini Zuma says.
She further argues that she cannot be ordered to remove or retract material from a platform over which she has no editorial control.
“The publication occurred on 3 August 2026 on the African Renaissance Podcast, hosted by Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi. I do not own, control or exercise editorial oversight over the podcast platform,” she states.
She further argues that Mbalula’s case fails to properly address the context in which she made the remarks, saying she was participating in political commentary about the role of money in ANC elective conferences.
Dlamini-Zuma has denied that her comments were defamatory and maintains that they were based on information available to her.
“I deny that the statements I made were defamatory. Truth is an absolute defence to defamation,” she says.
She also rejects the argument that she should have reported the allegations to enforcement agencies, saying: “My statements were made in the context of political commentary. I was not reporting a crime.”
Dlamini-Zuma argues that Mbalula, as ANC secretary-general, could have used the party’s internal disciplinary structures instead of approaching the court.
“He has elected not to do so. Instead, he has rushed to this Court,” she says.
The dispute stems from remarks Dlamini Zuma made during the Ndlozi-hosted podcast about the influence of money in ANC leadership contests, including allegations that Mbalula distributed money to delegates to influence votes.
She says the issue is broader than Mbalula and concerns what she describes as the buying of votes in ANC leadership contests.
“There is a problem in the ANC wherein leadership outcomes are decided through the buying of votes,” she says.
Dlamini-Zuma is asking the court to dismiss Mbalula’s application, arguing that the dispute is fundamentally political and should be dealt with through the ANC’s internal processes.
Ndlozi has not replied to written questions Africa Daily has sent to him via WhatsApp. His comments will be added to the story immediately after we have received them.