Former minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is refusing to withdraw her allegations that ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula distributed cash to delegates during the party’s 2022 national elective conference at Nasrec.

The allegations were made during an interview on Mbuyiseni Ndlozi’s African Renaissance Podcast on 3 August 2026. Dlamini-Zuma alleged that money was used to influence the outcome of the leadership contest, including Mbalula’s election as secretary-general and Cyril Ramaphosa’s re-election as ANC president.

Dlamini-Zuma claimed that Mbalula was openly distributing money at a clinic during the conference and also referred to reports that a large amount of cash had been found in a room on the first morning of the gathering.

Mbalula has strongly denied the allegations and described them as defamatory. He has asked Dlamini-Zuma to retract her statements and apologise, and launched a defamation application seeking a court-ordered retraction, apology and damages.

Dlamini-Zuma has refused to back down. In her opposing court papers, she maintained that Mbalula knows what happened and alleged that there was a queue of people waiting to receive cash at the clinic.

She also submitted an affidavit from ANC member and 2022 conference delegate Mandla Themba Sibiya. Sibiya claims he witnessed Mbalula distributing money to delegates and says he personally benefited from the alleged payments.

Dlamini-Zuma’s legal team argues that the dispute involves a genuine factual disagreement that should be tested at a full trial. Her lawyers have also argued that the matter concerns the ANC’s internal politics and the role of money in leadership contests.

Mbalula’s legal team, however, argued in court that Dlamini-Zuma had failed to provide credible evidence supporting her allegations. His lawyers also questioned why the claims were only made publicly nearly four years after the 2022 conference.

The two sides faced off in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 15 September. After hearing arguments from both legal teams, the court reserved judgment.

The court has not made a finding that Mbalula distributed money to delegates, and Mbalula continues to deny the allegation.

The case has brought renewed attention to long-running allegations about the role of money in ANC leadership contests, but the specific claims against Mbalula remain before the court.

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