Court orders Mbalula, Dlamini-Zuma to testify over vote buying claims
The Gauteng High Court has ordered ANC officials Fikile Mbalula and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to provide oral evidence regarding allegations of vote buying at the party's 2022 national conference. The court determined that the dispute cannot be resolved through affidavits alone and requires cross-examination.
Why it matters
This legal development impacts the internal integrity and political stability of South Africa's ruling party, the ANC.
The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has ruled that ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and national executive committee member Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma must give oral evidence over allegations that money was used to buy votes at the ANC’s 55th national conference.
In an interview on the African Renaissance Podcast on 3 August 2026, Dlamini-Zuma alleged that Mbalula had distributed money to delegates during the ANC 55th national conference held at Nasrec in December 2022. Dlamini-Zuma claimed that this money was used to secure Mbalula’s own seat as the party’s secretary-general.
Mbalula denied the allegations and approached the court to compel Dlamini-Zuma to retract the statement and for the court to prevent her from repeating the same allegations.
However, on Friday, Acting Judge Henno Viljoen ruled that the matter cannot be handled via affidavits and that the pair would have to prove or disprove the allegations via oral evidence in court.
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