Thuthukile Zuma has resigned from the African National Congress (ANC) regional executive committee in Johannesburg, days after the party began a process that could have led to disciplinary action against her.

The ANC Greater Johannesburg Region said it received her resignation letter on Tuesday, 10 November 2026. Zuma is the daughter of former president Jacob Zuma and ANC national executive committee member Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

In a statement, the region said it had started an organisational process against Zuma before her letter arrived. On 15 October, it had written to her asking her to explain why she should not face disciplinary action over two matters: alleged neglect of her responsibilities as an elected member of the regional executive committee, and an alleged breach of the ANC's social media protocols after she used her account on X to criticise party secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.

Absences and social media posts at issue

The region said its records showed that Zuma had been absent from most regional meetings since her election to the committee, and that she had not fulfilled assigned subcommittee tasks, zone duties or election campaign activities. She was first given seven days to respond to the October letter, and the deadline was later extended to 20 November. Instead, she resigned.

Zuma said the organisational environment and the disciplinary process had made it increasingly difficult for her to continue serving meaningfully, and that she was resigning with immediate effect. She said the decision should not be read as an admission of wrongdoing, and she stressed that she remains a member of the ANC.

Her resignation letter, seen by the Sunday World newspaper, said she was being treated unfairly because of who her parents are. The disciplinary action followed her public comments about Mbalula and about how the party handled the submission of its candidate list ahead of the local government elections held on 4 November 2026.

ANC says process was already under way

The ANC region was keen to make clear that the disciplinary process came first. Its statement said the letter of 15 October had asked Zuma to make representations on why she should not be subjected to disciplinary action, and that the region would still consider the issues raised in her resignation letter alongside the matters already communicated to her, in line with the ANC constitution and its organisational procedures.

The episode underlines the strains inside the ANC in its largest city region. Johannesburg is the party's most important urban stronghold, and the row comes just days after voters went to the polls in local government elections. Zuma's departure removes a prominent figure from the regional leadership, but her insistence that she remains an ANC member leaves open the question of what role, if any, she will seek inside the party next.