By Simon Nare
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has failed to secure an immediate retraction and public apology from party veteran Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma over claims that he distributed money to delegates at the ANC’s 2022 elective conference.
The Johannesburg High Court ordered that the dispute must be tested via oral evidence.
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Mbalula approached the court seeking relief including an order compelling Dlamini-Zuma to withdraw the allegation and apologise publicly for statements she made during a podcast interview.
In a judgment handed down on Friday, Acting Judge Henno Viljoen found that the competing versions raised a “real, genuine and bona fide dispute of fact” that could not satisfactorily be resolved on the affidavits before the court.
The court directed that oral evidence be heard on the central factual dispute, with Mbalula, Dlamini-Zuma and ANC member Mandla Themba Sibiya expected to give evidence. Mbalula and Dlamini-Zuma will also be available for cross-examination.
Dlamini-Zuma welcomed the ruling in a statement published on her social media platforms on Monday.
“If the ANC is to renew itself, it must confront the use of money in its internal elective processes honestly,” she said.
Dlamini-Zuma said she had argued in her court papers that the dispute would be better resolved through oral evidence rather than on affidavit.
“I remain committed to cooperating with the court’s process. Out of respect for the court, I will not argue this matter in the public domain any further,” she said.
While Mbalula did not obtain the immediate retraction and apology he sought, the judgment was not a complete defeat for him.
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The court rejected several preliminary objections raised by Dlamini-Zuma, including arguments relating to non-joinder, the exhaustion of internal ANC remedies and alleged abuse of court process.
Dlamini-Zuma made the allegation during an African Renaissance Podcast interview broadcast in August, in which she reflected on her unsuccessful campaign for the ANC presidency at the party’s 54th National Conference in 2017 and discussed the role of money in subsequent ANC leadership contests.
During the interview, she made a specific allegation against Mbalula, saying: “Mbalula was dishing the money in the clinic.”
The allegation relates to the ANC’s 55th National Conference in December 2022, where Cyril Ramaphosa was re-elected party president and Mbalula was elected secretary-general.
Mbalula has rejected the claim, maintaining that he did not distribute money to delegates to secure either his own election or that of other ANC leaders.
Responding to the ruling, Mbalula said it should not be construed as confirmation that he had influenced the conference by paying delegates.
He welcomed the ruling, saying he appreciated that the judge had recognised that the material factual disputes should be tested in court through oral evidence.
“The matter is now being case managed for the hearing of oral evidence. The judgment therefore does not constitute a finding that the allegations are true. The factual dispute remains to be determined after the evidence of the relevant witnesses has been tested under oath,” he said.
Mbalula maintained that the allegations were untrue and said he had nothing to hide. He said he would allow the evidence to be tested in court, where it belongs, rather than conduct the matter through public statements and political commentary.
