Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said that she did not vote to remove President Cyril Ramaphosa from office but, rather, she was agreeing with the Section 89 Panel Report, which said he had a case to answer for.

On Tuesday she defied the African National Congress (ANC) directive to tow the party line and vote against the adoption of the controversial Section 89 Report on the Phala Phala farm saga.

If Parliament had voted to adopt the report, it would have paved the way for an impeachment process ahead of the ANC’s Elective Conference, which is expected to start on Friday.

Dlamini-Zuma is one of the ANC hopefuls who are in the race to lead the ruling party ahead of the 2024 elections.

Her decision, on Tuesday, to agree that the report be adopted by Parliament generated excitement from the opposition benches, particularly the Economic Freedom Fighters. 

Dlamini-Zuma gave an interview to Newzroom Afrika on Wednesday, where, when asked about not complying with the party’s directive, she said she will remain a member of the ANC.

“If I was tired of being a member of the ANC probably I wouldn’t be where I am. I am not tired of being a member of the ANC. I am very disciplined and a very loyal member of the ANC but I don’t know about a rule that says you can’t express your views in Parliament, especially because we were not voting on a motion to remove the President. We were voting to say whether we agree with the report that Parliament itself had asked for and I read the report, and I did not disagree with the report,” she stressed.

She added that before a party line is decided on, rigorous debates are meant to take place but argued that this was not done in the case of the Section 89 Panel Report.

She accused the ANC’s national chairperson Gwede Mantashe of not allowing her and other ANC members a chance to debate on the report at the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held before the Parliamentary sitting.

However, she denied that only a Ramaphosa faction was allowed to speak at the NEC meeting.

She added the panel’s report, which was overseen by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, was meant to give Ramaphosa a chance to clear his name.

“It wasn’t to remove the President but it was to allow the President to clear his name, to just answer the questions. That’s how I understand it,” she said.

Dlamini-Zuma was unable to say if she is still comfortable serving in Ramaphosa’s Cabinet.

She said she served at the behest of the President.

When pressed on whether she still wanted to serve on his Cabinet she said, “It depends. Just wait. Let’s see.”

When asked if she was ready to resign or if she was waiting to be fired she replied, “Ask me that question in January, I’ll answer you.”