Thuthukile Zuma resigns from ANC Johannesburg regional executive

Thuthukile Zuma, daughter of former president Jacob Zuma, has resigned from the African National Congress (ANC) Greater Johannesburg Regional Executive Committee (REC) with immediate effect, following disciplinary proceedings instituted against her.

In a letter dated November 10 and addressed to ANC Greater Johannesburg regional secretary Sasabona Manganye, Zuma rejected allegations of misconduct levelled against her, accusing the regional leadership of victimisation, censorship and intolerance of dissenting views.

Her resignation comes after she received a letter dated October 29 notifying her of the intention to institute disciplinary charges against her.

Zuma said she did not believe that the allegations against her were supported by any constitutional provisions that established how her conduct or performance as an REC member amounted to misconduct.

She also defended her public criticism of ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and the handling of the party's candidate list submission process ahead of the local government elections.

Zuma said her remarks were a response to what she regarded as misconduct by the secretary-general and argued that the organisation had chosen to pursue disciplinary action against her instead of addressing the issues she had raised.

She further accused the REC of failing to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities, saying meetings were repeatedly not convened, leaving members without platforms to raise concerns and deliberate on organisational matters.

She also alleged that members were being censored during virtual meetings and removed from the REC's WhatsApp group for expressing views that were not supported by the regional secretary.

Zuma said she had previously raised these concerns in meetings and through formal correspondence, but the organisation had not meaningfully responded to her complaints.

She linked the tensions within the regional structure to what she described as a broader culture of intolerance within the ANC, arguing that political engagement was increasingly being replaced by factional intolerance and the suppression of dissent.

She also revisited her opposition to the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU), which brought the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA) into a coalition arrangement following the 2024 national elections.

Zuma said structures of the ANC were not given an opportunity to reflect on the party's electoral decline or debate the political implications of including the DA in government.

She said this prompted her to participate in a picket outside an ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to express her opposition to the coalition arrangement.

According to Zuma, even that act of political dissent was met with threats of disciplinary action.

She argued that had the regional executive committee been allowed to meet and deliberate on the matter, members would have had an opportunity to express their concerns about the DA's inclusion in government.

In her letter, Zuma also raised concerns about what she described as persistent attempts to associate her political views with those of her parents, former president Jacob Zuma and former ANC national executive committee member Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

She said she had been subjected to taunts portraying her as an agent of the two political figures, instead of being judged on her own conduct and contribution to the ANC.

The resignation, however, does not amount to her leaving the ANC.

Zuma made it clear that she remains a member of the organisation and is committed to its founding values and the struggle for a National Democratic Society.

She said her decision to leave the regional executive committee should not be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing.

Zuma was elected to the ANC Greater Johannesburg REC in June 2022. She also contested the position of regional deputy chairperson at the ANC's Johannesburg regional leadership elections in December 2025.

Regional secretary Sasabona Manganye had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.