Some were upset that following the Constitutional Court judgment the ANC top six called for an extended NWC meeting, yet provincial leaders had not come to communicate what had happened in the meeting to their structures.
The NEC and NWC, which many believed were pro-Zuma, were seen to be serving the president's interests instead of the party's.
This also called into question the process of electing leaders in the ANC and slate politics.
There was a general feeling at Wednesday's meeting that Zuma should act in the best interest of the ANC and voluntarily step down.
Umkhonto we Sizwe veteran Mavuso Msimang, who earlier in the day stood with civil society organisations and activists on the stairs of the Constitutional Court calling on Zuma to resign, was the keynote speaker at the meeting.
The meeting was attended by members from other Johannesburg branches as well as from branches in other provinces.
The conference room at the Premier Hotel in Midrand was packed to capacity with some having to stand throughout proceedings while others sat on the floor filling up any empty space.
It has been a turbulent time for the ANC.
It started with revelations by former party officials and current that the politically connected Gupta family were offering Cabinet positions to certain people and interfering in government work. This culminated in the Constitutional Court's ruling last week which ordered that Zuma had failed to uphold the Constitution when he did not comply with Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's remedial action regarding payment for the non-security upgrades to his Nkandla homestead.
On Tuesday, the National Assembly debated a motion to remove the president from office, tabled by the Democratic Alliance, but this was defeated by the ANC in Parliament. The motion failed with 233 MPs voting against it and 143 in favour. There were no abstentions.
Msimang on Wednesday questioned how the ANC could claim "defeating the spirit of the Constitution" as a victory.
He said it was a painful time for the party.
Although members attending the meeting felt that the ANC's branches needed to take matters into their hands, Msimang said this would take too long.
Waiting for branch processes could cause more damage to the ANC's reputation.
According to Msimang, continuing with an "unsuitable person... is not being serious at all".
"The ANC could save us and this nation by acting."
