President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula to take time off to recover after he collapsed during a media briefing following the party’s Constitutional Court victory over the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
Also see: Fikile Mbalula’s collapse at ConCourt leaves Mzansi sceptical: ‘He dodged the asylum question’
Cyril Ramaphosa provided an update on Fikile Mbalula’s condition
On Saturday, while campaigning in Cape Town, the President shared that the senior party official was recovering after enduring significant pressure over the dispute involving 181 ANC councillor candidates excluded from the November 4 local government elections.
“He was under a lot of stress… he was carrying a heavy burden, as any secretary-general would,” Ramaphosa said.
The president added that Mbalula would not resume his duties until his recovery had been confirmed.
“I ordered him to rest, and said, ‘You’re not going back to work until I and the doctors are satisfied that you are fully OK,” he said.
[A FEW MOMENTS AGO]
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa tells us on the show that he has instructed the party Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula to rest following an illness. “He is recovering”
On the immigration issue: The Interministerial Committee is dealing with that.
The President says he is happy with their work so far.#sabcnews
— Chriselda Zozi Lewis (Babes Wendaba) (@Chriseldalewis) October 17, 2026
Also see: Old video of Fikile Mbalula calling Bafana ‘useless bunch of losers’ resurfaces
What happened to Fikile Mbalula?
Mbalula collapsed on Thursday, October 15, after becoming emotional while addressing journalists at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. The briefing followed the Constitutional Court’s decision to overturn an Electoral Court ruling that had upheld the exclusion of the 181 ANC candidates.
According to SABC News, Mbalula had been deeply troubled by the possibility that voters in affected communities would be unable to vote for ANC candidates.
“How will I live with a decision that in 2026, under my leadership, as the boss of the ANC, people could not vote?” he said during the briefing, describing the emotional toll of the dispute.
IOL reported that ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu took over the briefing after Mbalula collapsed and confirmed that he was receiving medical attention.
The ConCourt ruling
The Constitutional Court ruling cleared the way for the 181 candidates to contest the elections in six municipalities across the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. The dispute arose after the ANC’s candidate nominations were not marked as finally submitted on the IEC’s electronic nomination system before the deadline.
The court victory came amid internal ANC tensions over the handling of the candidate-list controversy. In its coverage, The Citizen also reported that Mbalula had accused some party members of exploiting the dispute to advance factional interests.
Ramaphosa praised Mbalula’s handling of the matter, saying he had led the party through the challenge “with great distinction,” while stressing that his health and recovery must take priority before he returns to work.
Featured image: Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo
Originally published by African Insider.
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