Lamola threatens legal action over Dlamini-Zuma’s election-buying claims

Lamola threatens legal action over Dlamini-Zuma's election-buying claims Minister of International Relations and Cooperation and ANC NEC member Ronald Lamola has issued a strong demand to ANC veteran Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to publicly retract claims linking him to vote-buying at the party's 2017 elective conference. This after Dlamini-Zuma's appearance on the African Renaissance Podcast, hosted by former EFF MP Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, during which she levelled explosive allegations against high-ranking ANC officials, claiming that illicit financial influence heavily dictated internal election outcomes. Specifically, she accused Lamola and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula of participating in vote-buying during the ANC's fity-fourth National Conference in 2017. She also went on to accuse Mbalula of "dishing out money" openly at a clinic facility during the fifty-fifth National Conference in 2022 to secure his position and protect Cyril Ramaphosa's presidency. Dlamini-Zuma alleged that a circulating audio recording directly implicated Lamola in these transactional activities. Responding with an open letter, Lamola expressed "deep concern and disappointment" over the remarks made by Dlamini-Zuma, a leader he says he has "long held in high esteem throughout my years of political activism". He categorically denied any involvement in vote-buying through phone calls, voice notes, or any other medium at any point in his career. Lamola pointed out that his voice and distinctive manner of speech are widely recognised across the party's structures. He argued that any "fair-minded individual" could easily discern that the voice on the audio recording does not belong to him. While emphasising his respect for Dlamini-Zuma's liberation struggle credentials, Lamola made it clear that a formal retraction is necessary to avoid escalating the matter legally. "I believe our movement has internal mechanisms and a culture of comradely engagement that should be exhausted before legal routes are pursued," Lamola stated. "It is not in my nature to turn every political disagreement into a courtroom battle." He urged Dlamini-Zuma to reconsider her statements, and urged her to do the "honourable thing" and issue a public retraction and apology "in the interest of organisational discipline and unity".