Thuthukile Zuma Resigns From ANC Johannesburg Regional Executive Committee

• Thuthukile Zuma stepped down from the ANC's Johannesburg Regional Executive Committee on 10 November 2026
• Zuma questioned whether her treatment within the party was linked to her family ties to Jacob Zuma and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
• Her resignation followed a string of public clashes with ANC leadership, including criticism directed at secretary-general Fikile Mbalula

SOUTH AFRICA - Thuthukile Zuma has walked away from her position on the African National Congress's Johannesburg Regional Executive Committee (REC), citing concerns about how the party has treated members of her family.

The Mail and Guardian reported on her resignation on Tuesday, 10 November 2026.

Zuma cites reasons for resignation

According to the publication, Zuma drew a direct line between the ANC's handling of former president Jacob Zuma and her mother, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and what she described as her own difficult experience inside the party.

"Given the manner in which the ANC has treated former President Jacob Zuma and Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, I cannot help but question whether the treatment I now endure is, in part, a consequence of my DNA," she said.

Read also

Panyaza Lesufi distances himself from ANC presidential campaign poster ahead of 2027 conference

See X post from the Mail and Guardian here:

Tensions with ANC leadership

Zuma's resignation did not come out of nowhere. She had already been voicing frustration with the party's leadership on several fronts.

After the Electoral Court dismissed the ANC's bid to reinstate 181 councillor candidates who had been struck from its lists ahead of the 2026 local government elections, the party's leadership urged members to stay "calm, disciplined and silent." Zuma pushed back, arguing that those responsible for the flawed candidate-list process had escaped any form of accountability.

She also turned her attention to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, accusing him of prioritising media appearances over the organisational work the party urgently needed.

Dlamini-Zuma's court battle adds to the friction

Her resignation arrives against the backdrop of a defamation dispute between her mother and Mbalula playing out at the Johannesburg High Court. The matter relates to allegations about payments said to be connected to Mbalula's campaign for the ANC secretary-general role before the party's 2022 national conference. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma further alleged that the funds were used to secure Cyril Ramaphosa's re-election as ANC president.

Read also

Helen Zille refuses to apologise to Julius Malema over defamation claims, SA divided by her response

Zuma sounds off on illegal immigration

Previously, Briefly News reported that Thuthukile Zuma triggered widespread debate online after posting a strongly worded statement on immigration, poverty, and inequality in South Africa, comments that quickly spread across social media. She said that she rejected the concept of “illegal Africans” on the continent, arguing that people may be undocumented but should not be labelled as illegal.

Source: Briefly News