"I respect whatever decisions are made by the president," said Sexwale, who was replaced by Connie September. "Whatever they are, we respect it."
Zuma axed three of his ministers in a Cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday.
Sexwale, the embattled communications minister, Dina Pule, and former co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Richard Baloyi lost their jobs.
Last year, Sexwale campaigned against Zuma's re-election as ANC leader at the ruling party's national elective conference at Mangaung in December.
Sexwale – along with all other candidates who ran against nominees aligned to Zuma – was not elected onto the 80-member national executive committee either – the ruling party’s highest decision-making body.
He also suffered a defeat in the race to become ANC deputy president at Mangaung, with Cyril Ramaphosa taking the position. – Sapa