In a letter to the ANC in Johannesburg, Thuthukile Zuma said she feels victimised.
ANCYL president Collen Malatji. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
ANC Youth League president Collen Malatji says Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Thuthukile Zuma, has the right to resign from the ANC if she wants to.
This comes after Thuthukile has left her position as a member of the ANC regional executive committee (REC) in Johannesburg, citing, among other reasons, victimisation because of her relationship with her father, Jacob Zuma, who now leads the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK party).
Thuthukile is also facing disciplinary action within the ANC for publicly criticising party secretary-general Fikile Mbalula’s handling of the late submission of councillor candidates to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
Will she join the MK party?
Malatji spoke to the media in Johannesburg this week, where he said the party had “been dealing with the Zuma drama”
“We are used to it now. It’s not something that scares us anymore. We don’t know what’s next.
“They have a right. You join the ANC voluntarily, and you leave voluntarily now.
“Normally, when you resign, you send your letter to the secretary, but if you want to resign to South Africa and mobilise sympathy, you resign to the media.
“We do not know what she wants to achieve, but she has got a right – she has got a democratic right to do whatever she wants to do,” he said.
Malatji said Thuthukile has the freedom to join any political party she wants, but urged her not to leave the ANC.
“It is unfortunate to lose a young woman like her. She is one of our strongest young women, brave and open about her views. Sometimes she borders on indiscipline, but she is a young person who expresses herself all the time,” he said.
“She must not join other political parties. She must come forward and raise her issues in the movement and see if we can address them,” he said.
Zuma family problems with the ANC
Thuthukile is Jacob Zuma’s youngest daughter with his ex-wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Her problems inside the ANC come at a time when her mother is embroiled in a legal battle with the party’s secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula.
Dlamini-Zuma accused Mbalula of using money to win his position at the last ANC elective conference in Johannesburg.
Mbalula has denied these claims and wants a retraction and an apology.
The ANC also has issues with Thuthukile’s father, whom the ANC has accused of weakening the party at the 2024 elections.
Zuma started his own party, the MK Party, in 2023. The party’s popularity has contributed to the ANC getting around 30% in last week’s elections.
