By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) Eastern Cape secretary Lulama Ngcukaitobi has threatened to take party’s secretary general Fikile Mbalula to court for defamation of character.
Mbalula has accused Ngcukaitobi for the candidate list submission blunder affecting Eastern Cape municipalities.
The ANC has suffered a big blow in the lead-up to the local government elections as the Electoral Court dismissed its appeal against the exclusion of its 181 candidates in six municipalities.
The affected municipalities are Port St Johns, Ngquza Hill, Walter Sisulu and Sundays River Valley in the Eastern Cape, as well as uMshwathi in KwaZulu-Natal and Mangaung in the Free State.
Through his lawyers, Mabuza attorneys, Ngcukayitobi has written to Mbalula to demand “a full and unconditional and mutually agreed retraction” of the “falsehoods” which he said were published by Mbalula against him.
Mbalula has until noon on Tuesday to withdraw the claims, or face the defamation case.
Ngcukayitobi’s lawyers said Mbalula had caused false statements to be published that damaged their client’s integrity, standing and reputation.
Mbalula further accused Ngcukayitobi of ineptitude or negligence by submitting the list to his office at about 4.30pm on the closing day, a claim the lawyers said Mbalula knew to be false.
“To your knowledge the claims you made are false, defamatory and/or intended to carry a defamatory innuendo,” the letter said.
“Your statement therefore implies that our client is in possible breaches of ANC policy, which is defamatory by its very nature in that such conduct would be prejudicial to countless people and/or communities.”
The letter then turned the accusation of tampering back on Mbalula, naming former Nelson Mandela Bay politician Andile Lungisa as the candidate removed on his instruction.
“Our client is only aware of [an] instance where you personally instructed, in his presence, the alteration of the list, including the removal of Mr Andile Lungisa’s name from the Proportional Representation List of Nelson Mandela Bay,” the letter said.
“To your knowledge, our client is not responsible for the alteration of any lists.”
The lawyers laid the failure at Mbalula’s door and linked it to the provincial task team installed in the Eastern Cape.
Meanwhile KuGompo High Court has granted an order for Eastern Cape ANC Chairperson Oscar Mabuyane to pay the punitive costs in the matter relating to a contempt of court application.
The Eastern Cape ANC remains under ongoing legal strain and leadership uncertainty as battles over organizational processes, suspensions of dissenting members, and appeals continue.
Mabuyane is continuing with the appeal of the March 2026 judgment halting its provincial conference and submitted his answering affidavit 48 hours late.
The case was brought by disgruntled members Lwazi Rotya, Sinethemba Mpande, and Nompumelelo Mzothwa. Rotya is a member of the ANC in Ward 24, Mcebisi Bata Branch, while Mpande is a member of the branch executive committee and treasurer of Valithuba Tshwaku Branch, and Mzothwa belongs to the Ward 26 branch in the Ingquza Hill sub-region.