MS SIU MADLANGA REP 🇿🇦

Ekurhuleni CFO Kagiso Lerutla seeks urgent court interdict against Inno Morolong over alleged defamatory posts Ekurhuleni Group Chief Financial Officer Kagiso Lerutla has approached the Johannesburg High Court for an urgent interdict against social media personality Innocentia Morolong, seeking to have Instagram posts allegedly linking him to online harassment and the payment of bloggers removed. In an urgent court application, Lerutla asks the court to declare specific statements published on Morolong’s Instagram account unlawful and defamatory if the evidence establishes that the allegations are false and wrongful. He is also seeking to prevent her from republishing the disputed claims. The dispute follows a series of social media posts that allegedly appeared on or around 21 October 2026. According to Lerutla’s founding affidavit, one post featured a collage containing his photograph alongside images of two women, with a caption referring to an online dispute involving his marital circumstances and private relationships. Another Instagram story allegedly included a purported WhatsApp exchange in which Morolong accused Lerutla of calling and harassing her, threatening her with lawyers and paying bloggers to attack another person. Lerutla disputes the allegations and argues that claims he secretly finances bloggers to damage someone else’s reputation could harm his professional standing and credibility as a senior municipal official. “An allegation that I secretly finance bloggers to damage another person’s reputation is capable of suggesting dishonest, manipulative or improper conduct,” Lerutla states in his founding affidavit. He further argues that the publications have drawn his family into a public dispute, potentially exposing his spouse, children and other relatives to unwanted attention. “The fact that my public role invites scrutiny does not extinguish the legitimate privacy interests of my family,” he states. According to the court papers, screenshots of the disputed posts showed approximately 16,200 likes, 1,204 comments and 4,647 shares or sends when captured. Lerutla acknowledges that these figures reflect the engagement displayed at that particular time and do not independently establish how many unique people viewed the content. His attorneys allegedly sent Morolong a cease-and-desist letter on 21 October, demanding that the material be removed and that she provide undertakings by 4pm that day. Lerutla says the speed at which social media content spreads, together with the possibility of further disclosures, makes urgent court intervention necessary. He wants the court to order Morolong to remove the identified posts within 12 hours of being served with the order, where the material remains accessible, and to prohibit the republication of the same allegations. He is also asking that she be prevented from arranging for other people to publish the same claims on her behalf. The proposed order includes safeguards for freedom of expression. Lerutla says he does not intend to prevent lawful and accurate reporting of court proceedings, fair comment or other speech protected by law. He acknowledges that the public interest in scrutinising public officials must be balanced against his rights to dignity, reputation and privacy. He is also asking the court to require Morolong to preserve the original electronic versions and metadata of the disputed posts, as well as relevant communications that could be important to the proceedings. If the application is opposed, he wants the court to award him legal costs. The dispute comes against the backdrop of scrutiny surrounding Lerutla’s career in local government. He was appointed Group CFO of the City of Ekurhuleni in 2019, but his appointment was declared unlawful and invalid by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa in 2025 over concerns about the appointment process and the use of a fixed-term contract. Lerutla later became Ekurhuleni city manager. In April 2026, he was arrested alongside suspended deputy metro police chief Julius Mkhwanazi in a separate case involving allegations of fraud, corruption and defeating the ends of justice. The allegations relate to claims that an individual impersonated Lerutla in court over a speeding matter in 2019. The charges remain separate from his current dispute with Morolong, and the allegations must be determined through the criminal justice process. buzzlifenews.com