The billboard, which featured the faces of eThekwini’s Mayor Cyril Xaba, City Manager Musa Mbhele and senior municipal official Ednick Msweli, which they say makes it look as if they are part of a "water tanker mafia, has led to the three serving the party with court papers".
The three have applied for an urgent interdict at the Durban High Court. The matter will be heard in court, today, 15 October, Thursday.
The DA says on its website, “We are ready to defend our position in court on 15 October.”
It adds, “While the city’s leadership fights the DA over a billboard, thousands of eThekwini residents continue to fight for something far more important: water in their taps.”
The Party says its billboard was a call to action, not an accusation of criminal involvement.
In its court papers, the DA says it had issued a press statement on the same day and explained why the three appeared on the billboard.
The court papers read: “Because the water crisis has worsened under their leadership. They are accountable for failing to repair the system that has made eThekwini increasingly dependent on tankers. If they did their jobs, we would not be at the mercy of a water tanker mafia in this city." That is the DA's message.”
The DA says the three officials featured on the billboard occupy the most senior positions of accountability for this crisis.
“They have the authority and responsibility to fix the infrastructure, restore reliable water supply and end the conditions that allow the water tanker mafia to flourish.
“They have the power to stop the water tanker mafia. That is precisely why their faces appeared on the billboard.”
The DA also says that instead of spending time and resources fighting the DA in court, “the city’s leadership should be fighting water losses, broken infrastructure and the exploitation of communities desperate for water.”
It adds that the billboard was removed without the DA's approval.
The eThekwini controversy follows a similar DA water-themed billboard campaign launched in Gauteng earlier in 2026, which criticized Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi over water outages and his remarks regarding showering at hotels
