ANC deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane has entered the race for ANC president, telling the Sunday Times she would stand for the position in the 2027 internal elections if the opportunity presented itself.
Mokonyane, in a wide-ranging interview with Mike Siluma on the Politics Weekly podcast, also said the ANC would win more than 50% of the votes in next year’s local government elections and accused former president Jacob Zuma, once her ally, of being a “tribalist”. The former Gauteng premier and former minister also conceded that the ANC had failed to manage the government of national unity (GNU) effectively.
ANC officials have attempted to silence debate over who will succeed President Cyril Ramaphosa to avoid factional infighting, which has plagued the party in the past and contributed to its electoral decline.
Mokonyane said, “If ANC structures are calling for anyone to stand, and that person is eligible in line with the ANC constitution, why must you stop that person? I would stand if my name was put forward.”
Mokonyane said patriarchy continued to cast a long shadow over the ANC, which led to women being used by men to fight each other. She accused some women not committed to gender emancipation of using the women’s rights issue to climb the party ladder.
“They will sneak in because they are the right tool to be used by men against others. That’s our problem. The processes of the ANC [itself] create problems. It is we women who work tirelessly for this movement, both as volunteers and members,” she said.
“We’ve had the ANC being led by six men, or five men and one woman. I’m a proponent of women taking over the ANC. Even if you are alone, make your voice known ... Don’t be a drum majorette and don’t see a problem when there is an opportunity. Remain consistent. I’m one of those who says that when the right opportunity comes, women must embrace one another.”
Mokonyane was among the ANC leaders advocating for a GNU after the party’s electoral losses in 2024.
She conceded that the ANC had “failed to manage the GNU better”, adding that the party had not institutionalised processes when dealing with issues.
“We assumed that everybody understood they served at the behest of the president, that when you were a cabinet minister and had been sworn in you would owe allegiance to the collective that is called the cabinet or the executive. But you can see [some cabinet members describe] themselves as DA ministers when there’s no such thing in law ... So it’s those things I think as the ANC we also have to deal with.”
Despite continual clashes with the DA over foreign and domestic policy, Mokonyane said she was confident the GNU would not collapse, saying the DA had no intention of leaving the coalition.
She said the ANC had every intention of following through with the resolution of the national executive committee to expand the GNU, claiming the party was already in talks with other political entities.
If ANC structures are calling for anyone to stand, and that person is eligible in line with the ANC constitution, why must you stop that person?
— Nomvula Mokonyane
She accused the DA of inconsistency, claiming it was not acting in accordance with the statement of intent — the GNU’s de facto constitution.
“I don’t think the GNU will collapse, and I don’t think they [the DA] have any intention [of leaving the coalition government], both subjectively and objectively. They have a constituency in ... South Africa that wants stability. They’ve [also] got their own personal interests. I’m sure you’ve seen how [John] Steenhuisen was excited to be alongside Xi Jinping in China — those blue lights and stuff.”
“As I’ve said, there are many other parties. There are also those parties that worked with us going into the budget. So we are busy now engaging with everybody, including the DA, because the DA is not the ANC, [and] the GNU is not the DA. [The GNU is] not DA-dependent. It is dependent on the collaboration of parties represented in the National Assembly.”
Mokonyane added that the ANC’s polling indicated it would break through the 50% mark in the next local government elections. She said the ANC had improved its performance in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, where it suffered its greatest losses in the 2024 elections.
“We can’t continue doing what we [did] before. It hasn’t worked. We’re now focusing on doing things differently, even on [issues such as] how you can canvass a voter. You can’t just fill a stadium and be satisfied. You must also remain in contact, service a particular number of homes, and remain [engaged with] that constituency.”
The MK Party was instrumental in the ANC losing control of KwaZulu-Natal, which led to the party’s devastating 40% result nationally.
Considered one of former president Jacob Zuma’s fiercest allies during his tenure as party leader, Mokonyane said she had last spoken to Zuma on the day he launched the MK Party in December 2023, when he promised further engagements [with the ANC] that never materialised.
“I see that as an act of betrayal [towards] the organisation and those who supported him on the [basis] that he [was the ANC’s] president. Those are the things that disappointed and hurt me. He betrayed people who stood with him, like the people of Western Sahara, who have been disenfranchised. You [have to] ask yourself, ‘Was this person genuine?’”
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