A provincial executive committee member of the ANC Youth League in KwaZulu-Natal has unleashed his lawyers on the party’s structures in the Mzala Nxumalo region (Zululand) to force it to retract a statement he claims is defamatory.
Nhloso “Mpisi” Gwala’s (also known as Nhloso Zulu) legal action comes after over the weekend, the ANC Youth League in the region issued a statement where it slammed him for allegedly abusing an ex-lover.
The regional structure issued the statement after Gwala was heard in a trending video using vulgar language against the ex-lover and even threatening her.
It was after she found the lover in the car of her new boyfriend.
The controversial Gwala is heard in the video saying it meant that the ex-lover has been seeing her new boyfriends behind her back for quite some time.
Pushback by Gwala
In the statement that followed that cringeworthy incident, the league called on the provincial structure to act against Gwala.
The statement has prompted a pushback by Gwala, with his lawyers from Ayanda Mthembu and Associates demanding an immediate retraction.
“The press release was widely circulated and has caused, and continues to cause, serious reputational and political prejudice to our client,” said the lawyers.
“The allegations contained therein are false, wrongful, and defamatory with the sole intention to cause damage to our clients’ dignity.
“We place on record that you took no steps to verify the accuracy of the statement issued prior to causing the same to be published, which steps would have precipitated care prior to publication.
“It is our instruction that the circulation was made in bad faith to ensure that its wide circulation on social media platforms invites further ridicule and public humiliation in order to increase the defamatory effect of your statements.
“Furthermore, the publication is calculated to injure our client in his good name, reputation, and standing, both personally and within the ANC.”
League asked to retract statement
The lawyers gave the league until Wednesday this week to retract the statement or be sued for defamation.
“Accordingly, we are instructed to demand, as we hereby do, that the ANC Youth League Mzala Nxumalo region immediately retract the said press release in its entirety and issue a fresh statement publicly and unequivocally withdrawing the defamatory allegations and misrepresentation.
“We are instructed further to demand, as we hereby do, that such retraction be coupled with an unreserved written apology to our client, to be published with the same prominence and circulation as the defamatory release.
In this regard, we require confirmation of compliance with the above to be furnished to our office in writing by no later than close of business on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.
“Finally, we are instructed that you must refrain from engaging in any further conduct that will defame our client.
“Should you fail to adhere to our clients demands and to do so within the stipulated time frame, we hold instructions to issue summons without further notice, claiming damages for defamation, together with costs of suit on an attorney-and-client scale,” the lawyers demanded in the letter dated 29 September 2025.”
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