Eastern Cape roads, transport and community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha is heading for another legal showdown with podcaster and social media “whistle-blower” Isaack Lesole, who has used social media platforms to accuse the MEC of serious crimes and involvement in taxi violence.
Lesole has vowed to lay bare evidence of his claims in court.
Last week, Nqatha obtained an interim interdict from the Eastern Cape High Court barring Lesole from making further derogatory comments about him, and ordering him to remove his posts or risk being sued.
But Lesole said he would not back down, saying he was more than ready to meet Nqatha in court when he appealed against the recent interim court interdict.
He said the interdict was issued without his submission.
The court, sitting in Bhisho, recently branded allegations made by Lesole on the podcast Transit Ringas as outright lies and defamatory to Nqatha.
Lesole and Transit Ringas were listed as respondents in Nqatha’s court application.
This follows allegations by Lesole in his podcast that the provincial transport department was in deep trouble, all because of Nqatha.
In viral rants that swept across social media platforms, including TikTok and YouTube, and listed in Nqatha’s court papers, Lesole accused Nqatha of serious crimes and linked him to tensions in the taxi industry.
However, the court deemed the accusations to be false and defamatory.
Lesole and his podcast were then interdicted from making any further false and defamatory statements against Nqatha on any platform.
The court also told Lesole that within 10 days of the passing of the order, he needed to retract and remove the allegations from all social media platforms, including TikTok, YouTube, and any other social media platform on which they had been published.
Lesole was also ordered to pay Nqatha’s legal costs.
In the wake of the interim interdict, transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the MEC had sought legal recourse after Lesole “had seemingly embarked on a campaign spreading lies and making defamatory remarks against MEC Nqatha”.
Nqatha welcomed the court ruling, calling it more than just a vindication, “but a clear revelation about Lesole, his handlers and fellow conspirators”.
“Vindication is not just a validation of my truth. It is also a testament to the strength found in staying steadfast despite the noise.
“This is a reminder that the lies we face often reveal more about the teller and his handlers than the target.
“And in the end, for me it is not about proving others wrong but about staying true to what I believe in.”
He said the “frivolous allegations” had done huge reputational damage not just to him alone, but also to the department.
Lesole was given until Friday to remove all his “false and defamatory” social media posts about Nqatha and publish a retraction.
A failure to do so would mean Lesole and Transit Ringas were in contempt of the court order.
While Lesole said he would not make any further comment on the substance of the matter, as it was now before court, he did recently vow to appeal and push for a review of the interim interdict.
“The order was granted in our absence, as no answering affidavits were filed due to reasons to be shared with the court in our application for leave to appeal,” Lesole said.
“We recognise that in such circumstances the court is obliged to make its determination on the basis of the applicant’s unopposed version of events.
“For the avoidance of doubt, this outcome does not reflect a finding on the merits of both parties to the matter.
“Rather, it reflects only the absence of opposing affidavits before the court at the time.”
He said he and his podcast platform would soon request reasons for the judgment, appeal or review the judgment and file “comprehensive legal and substantive argument”.
“These documents will place on record the factual and legal basis for our statements.
“Our arguments and proof will form part of the public records [to be submitted in court].
“Transit Ringas welcomes scrutiny of our evidence and invites interested parties, including journalists, civil society and industry stakeholders, to test our allegations against the responses of the Eastern Cape department of transport once we have responded to the allegations in court,” Lesole said.
On Tuesday, Binqose said in the absence of an appeal by Lesole the MEC would wait until Friday — when the 10 days would be up — before considering his next legal move, which could include suing Lesole for defamation.
Daily Dispatch
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