The Durban High Court has ruled that the Democratic Alliance may continue to criticise eThekwini Municipality’s leadership over the city’s water crisis, but placed limits on claims linking officials to organised crime.
In an order issued today, the court permitted the DA to state that Mayor Cyril Xaba, Municipal Manager Musa Mbhele, and Water and Sanitation Executive Director Ednick Msweli “failed in performance of their functions, and have been negligent in the performance of their functions regarding the state of water services and the procurement of water tankers.”
The ruling followed a defamation lawsuit brought by the three officials after the DA erected a billboard alongside the N2 motorway in September showing their faces with the message: “You can stop the water tanker mafia. Vote DA for water in your taps.”
The officials claimed the billboard falsely linked them to criminal activity and demanded its removal and a public apology.
Restrictions on criminal allegations
While the court sided with the DA on political criticism, it restricted the party from making three specific allegations: that the officials are members of or associated with a water tanker mafia, that they are complicit in or knowingly profit from such a mafia, or that they are involved in a criminal syndicate connected with water tankers.
The DA’s eThekwini mayoral candidate Haniff Hoosen said the party welcomed the ruling and never made such allegations.
“The court order does not require the DA to make any formal apology for the flighting of the billboard, nor any published content relating to the billboard,” Hoosen said in a statement.
The court order states: “Nothing in this order prevents the DA from criticising the Mayor, Municipal Manager and Head of Water, for the performance of their functions, the state of water services and infrastructure, the procurement and management of water tankers, or from campaigning on those matters.”
Hoosen said Mayor Xaba did not succeed in getting an order to force the DA to apologise.
Water crisis background
The dispute centres on eThekwini’s ongoing water crisis. The city has about 13 000 active water leaks and loses an estimated 21 billion litres of treated water every month, according to the DA.
The party has blamed years of neglected infrastructure, failed planning and inadequate management for leaving communities without reliable water and increasingly dependent on costly tankers.
The DA unveiled the controversial billboard on 28 September alongside the N2 near Newlands East. The advertising company removed it days later, with the DA claiming this followed intimidation of the landowner.
On 29 September, attorneys for the three officials sent a letter of demand labelling the billboard defamatory and demanding its removal and a public retraction within 24 hours.
The officials then launched an urgent court application seeking to compel the DA to remove all references to the “water tanker mafia” from online platforms and promotional materials.
Political implications
The ruling comes two weeks before local government elections scheduled for 4 November.
Hoosen said the DA would not be deterred by the legal action, which he said attempted to prevent legitimate criticism of leaders who failed in their functions.
“The people of eThekwini deserve reliable water, responsible management of public funds and leaders who accept accountability for their performance,” he said.
He called on voters in eThekwini to “stand with us to stop the chaos and start service delivery.”
The court order does not apply to media houses or members of the public who commented on or published images of the billboard, according to the DA.
The municipality has faced mounting scrutiny over water infrastructure failures and allegations of corruption in water tanker procurement. The Special Investigating Unit was authorised in 2025 to probe alleged maladministration in the city’s water and sanitation services.
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