PRETORIA, Wednesday 26 August 2026 — ActionSA has lodged a formal complaint with the Electoral Commission against ANC figure Kgoši Maepa over alleged election-related disinformation targeting Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya, escalating an increasingly contentious political battle in one of the country’s most competitive metros.
The complaint asks the Electoral Commission of South Africa to investigate whether social-media posts attributed to Maepa breached the Electoral Code of Conduct by publishing allegedly false or defamatory information about Moya in connection with the 4 November local government elections.
ActionSA also said it intends laying criminal charges against Maepa under the Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act.
No finding has been made by the IEC or a court that Maepa breached electoral law, and ActionSA’s allegations remain to be determined.
The dispute centres on allegations circulated earlier this month that Tlopo Construction, a company reported to have conducted business with the City of Tshwane, performed work at Moya’s private residence.
Moya publicly denied the allegations on 14 August.
She said Tlopo Construction had never performed work at her home and that improvements to the property were commissioned privately and paid for from her own funds.
The mayor said a swimming pool was constructed at the property in early 2025 and that paving was undertaken separately in 2026 by another service provider.
She said neither project involved Tlopo Construction.
ActionSA’s complaint specifically accuses Maepa of continuing to make corruption allegations against the mayor after her denial.
More significantly, the party alleges that Maepa circulated AI-generated images purporting to show WhatsApp conversations between Moya and a contractor.
ActionSA says the purported conversations were fabricated and falsely attributed statements to the mayor.
That allegation has not yet been adjudicated by the IEC or tested in court.
ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said the party had asked the commission to determine whether the conduct breached provisions of the Electoral Code prohibiting false or defamatory allegations concerning candidates.
The party is also relying on section 69 of the Municipal Electoral Act, which prohibits publishing false information with the intention of influencing the conduct or outcome of an election.
The complaint takes on greater political significance because it concerns the sitting mayor of Pretoria and comes during an increasingly competitive campaign for control of Tshwane.
Moya became executive mayor in October 2024 after a coalition involving the ANC, ActionSA and other parties removed DA mayor Cilliers Brink.
Relations between those parties have subsequently deteriorated as they prepare to compete against one another in November.
The ANC and ActionSA have recently traded accusations over the performance of Moya’s administration, while the DA is campaigning to return Brink to the mayoralty.
Moya has also faced criticism from the DA over Tshwane’s finances, including questions surrounding provision for municipal salary costs.
She has rejected suggestions that her administration is failing and has sought to make improvements in the city’s financial position and service delivery central to ActionSA’s election campaign.
The latest dispute is therefore different from ordinary campaign rhetoric because ActionSA has formally asked the body responsible for administering the election to determine whether a political opponent’s conduct crosses the line into prohibited electoral disinformation.
It also introduces the use of alleged AI-generated political material into the campaign at a time when parties are competing intensely over the records and reputations of mayoral contenders.
The IEC has repeatedly urged political parties and their supporters to respect the integrity of the electoral process and promote fact-based public discourse ahead of the election.
The commission has not yet publicly ruled on ActionSA’s complaint.
Any finding against Maepa — or a decision that the disputed material does not breach electoral rules — could provide an important indication of how the IEC intends applying existing electoral law to AI-generated or manipulated campaign material during the remainder of the 2026 municipal campaign.
