Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s Resignation and Its Continental Implications

The resignation of Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla from the National Assembly of South Africa on 28 November 2025 has triggered significant political ripples beyond Pretoria. While national headlines have focused on the immediate circumstances surrounding her exit, the development carries far-reaching consequences for continental parliamentary governance especially within the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), where she served as Chairperson of the Southern Caucus. Her departure has simultaneously terminated her PAP membership and left a leadership vacuum in one of the Parliament’s most strategic regional blocs.

From National Designation to Continental Leadership

In 2024, following South Africa’s general elections, the Parliament of South Africa designated Zuma-Sambudla as one of the country’s representatives to the Pan-African Parliament, in line with Article 5(1) of the PAP Protocol, which requires that PAP members must be elected or designated from among sitting members of national legislatures.

Soon after her arrival at PAP, she was elected Chairperson of the Southern Caucus, succeeding Hon. Pemmy Majodina, who had been appointed Minister of Water and Sanitation. Majodina had played a decisive and highly strategic role during the heated rotation debate, working tirelessly to ensure that the presidency of the Pan-African Parliament did not slip away from the Southern Region at a critical moment. Her leadership, negotiating skill, and ability to rally the region behind a common purpose were widely acknowledged, setting a high standard for whoever would succeed her. Thus, when the time came to elect a new Chairperson, Zuma-Sambudla inherited not just a vacant seat but a significant legacy: stepping into shoes shaped by one of the Southern Caucus’s most influential and consequential leaders.

Resignation and Automatic Loss of PAP Membership

Under PAP’s governing framework, membership in the continental parliament is inseparable from one’s status as a sitting national MP. Consequently, Zuma-Sambudla’s resignation from the National Assembly on 28 November 2025 automatically terminated her designation to PAP and extinguished her eligibility to continue as Chairperson of the Southern Caucus. Her departure thus leaves the region without a presiding coordinator at a time when regional cohesion remains vital.

Background to Her Resignation: Legal and Political Pressures

Zuma-Sambudla’s resignation did not occur in isolation; it unfolded against a backdrop of intensifying legal and political pressures. As the daughter of former President Jacob Zuma, she entered Parliament in June 2024 after the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party secured seats in the general elections. Her tenure was marked by significant controversy, including an ongoing trial for alleged incitement related to the 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

Her political vulnerability deepened in November 2025 when allegations surfaced, initially from her half-sister that she had recruited 17 young South African men under the guise of security training, who were then allegedly handed over to a mercenary group and deployed to fight for Russian forces in Ukraine. The Hawks launched an investigation, and the Democratic Alliance laid formal charges under the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act. Amid growing public scrutiny, she resigned from Parliament and all public roles, a decision her party described as voluntary and aimed at allowing her to assist affected families and cooperate with investigators. The scandal has also exacerbated concerns about instability within the MK Party and has cast a long shadow over the political environment in which her resignation took place.

Leadership Void: Southern Caucus Must Now Elect a Successor

With her departure, the Southern Caucus now faces the urgent task of electing a new Chairperson. This is a crucial role: the Chairperson serves as the coordinating voice of the region, providing unified leadership during key parliamentary processes such as Bureau elections, committee assignments, debates on major continental policy issues, and consultations with AU organs. Without a Chairperson, the region’s internal alignment and external representation within PAP risk fragmentation.

Institutional Implications for PAP

This episode also highlights a structural vulnerability in PAP’s governance design. Because PAP members serve entirely at the discretion of their national parliaments, any domestic political shift whether a resignation, cabinet appointment, or reshuffling, immediately disrupts continental representation and leadership arrangements. This dependency complicates PAP’s ability to preserve institutional memory, maintain continuity, and pursue long-term planning with stability.

The situation reinforces ongoing debates about the need for greater institutional safeguards, clearer succession protocols, and stronger mechanisms to ensure the consistent functioning of regional caucuses and committees.

Conclusion

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s resignation marks more than a personal political departure; it represents a significant turning point for the Southern Caucus and exposes inherent structural challenges within the Pan-African Parliament. Her exit leaves a leadership vacuum, prompts the need for new regional elections, and raises deeper questions about how continental institutions can maintain continuity when their membership is so tightly bound to fluctuating national political dynamics.

The Southern Caucus must now chart a path forward, elect a new Chairperson, and restore the cohesion required for effective continental engagement. At the same time, the Pan-African Parliament and the African Union more broadly, must confront the institutional vulnerabilities exposed by this episode, particularly by accelerating the ratification of the Malabo Protocol to strengthen PAP’s mandate and structural stability.