MBABANE – The Luke Commission (TLC) has taken two of its former employees and lawyer Sydney Maseko to court over social media publications.
TLC, in an urgent application before the High Court, is seeking an interdict against its former employees, Nkosinathi Nhlabatsi and Ntokozo Mabundza, together with Maseko. The organisation alleges that they have engaged in cyberbullying and social media publications which it says have harmed its reputation and threatened its operations.
The medical and humanitarian organisation wants the court to stop and restrain the respondents from publishing or circulating further allegations about it.
It also seeks an order directing them to publish a retraction in the following terms: “The allegations previously published concerning The Luke Commission were not supported by any judicial finding. I unconditionally withdraw those allegations posted in all media platforms.”
In the founding affidavit, Echo Nomsa Vanderwal, the Director of TLC, states that the organisation’s reputation is essential to maintaining donor funding, public confidence, government partnerships, international collaborations, employee morale and the continued delivery of medical and humanitarian services.
Vanderwal states that Mabundza and Nhlabatsi were employed by the organisation on fixed-term contracts. She told the court that Nhlabatsi was employed as Care Journey Junior Manager from February 13, 2023, until his contract expired on February 20, 2026, while Mabundza worked as a Nursing Outpatient employee from April 17, 2023 until July 20, 2026.
The affidavit states that after the contracts expired, the organisation exercised its discretion not to renew their employment.
“Following the end of their employment, the first (Nhlabatsi) and second (Mabundza) respondents began publishing false statements about the applicant (The Luke Commission) on Facebook, TikTok, X, WhatsApp and other social media platforms,” Vanderwal told the court.
The veracity of these allegations is yet to be tested in court. The respondents oppose the application and have not yet filed their answering affidavits.
The organisation submitted that the publications were capable of being viewed, shared and republished by an unlimited audience.
According to Vanderwal, TLC first became aware of Nhlabatsi’s Facebook publications on June 27, 2026, when he allegedly conducted live broadcasts concerning the organisation.
The affidavit states that during those broadcasts, Nhlabatsi claimed that the organisation intimidated employees who participated on social media, removed online comments from members of the public seeking information and questioned employees after interviews conducted by the Labour commissioner regarding the questions they had been asked and the responses they had provided.
Vanderwal further stated that Nhlabatsi claimed employees were provided with expired food. According to the affidavit, another live broadcast included allegations that employees were intimidated and unable to report labour grievances because labour officers allegedly disclosed the identities of complainants to management.
The affidavit also states that Nhlabatsi claimed employees were not provided with copies of their signed employment contracts and that contracts could later be altered without their knowledge or consent.
According to the organisation, on July 4, 2026, Nhlabatsi published a post stating that anyone who had never worked at TLC was fortunate and further claimed that employees interviewed by the Labour commissioner had been unfairly dismissed.
According to the affidavit, another publication on July 5 alleged that employees worked 12-hour shifts without receiving overtime payments.
The organisation further submitted that on July 9, Nhlabatsi claimed another employee had recently been unfairly dismissed and conducted another live broadcast concerning the organisation.
It was further alleged that Nhlabatsi claimed the organisation had unlawfully closed his account without his knowledge, did not have a human resources department, was not trustworthy and that members of executive management lacked the qualifications required for their positions.
Vanderwal also informed the court that the campaign became increasingly aggressive, stating that Mabundza publicly accused her of corruption.
She said TLC became aware of Mabundza’s Facebook publications on July 5.
According to the affidavit, Mabundza published a live video alleging that employees’ rights had been violated while he worked for the organisation.
She further states that on July 6, Mabundza published a video claiming the organisation was engaged in unlawful conduct.
On July 7, 8 and 9, Mabundza allegedly published additional statements claiming that several employees had been unfairly dismissed and encouraged former employees to contact him and Nhlabatsi.
The affidavit further states that Mabundza claimed the organisation had not been truthful to donors regarding employee salaries and also made remarks concerning the prime minister.
According to Vanderwal, Nhlabatsi and Mabundza jointly published another Facebook post on July 9, 2026, referring to her by name and stating that they were exposing what they described as corrupt conduct.
Vanderwal stated that although Maseko was not previously known to the organisation, he allegedly aligned himself with Nhlabatsi and Mabundza by supporting and amplifying their social media publications.She further alleged that Maseko made social media publications claiming that donations made to the organisation were misappropriated by Vanderwal and her family, and that employees worked unpaid overtime.
According to the affidavit, the publications create a false impression that TLC engages in unlawful labour practices, mistreats employees and lacks integrity in its operations. The organisation submits that the publications have harmed its reputation among donors, employees, government partners, stakeholders and members of the public.
According to the affidavit, TLC is a Christian organisation founded on Biblical principles and maintains that the publications portray it as acting contrary to those principles.
The affidavit states that the former employees have not pursued employment grievances through the dispute resolution mechanisms available under labour legislation, but instead raised their concerns publicly through social media.
Vanderwal submitted that, if necessary, the organisation will seek permission for court documents to be served electronically through the respondents’ social media platforms because it anticipates difficulty locating them.
She stated that the organisation intends to institute separate legal proceedings for damages while seeking an interim order preventing further publications.
The TLC also seeks leave from the court to validate electronic evidence under the Electronic Evidence Act, 2009. According to Vanderwal, TLC depends substantially on international donor funding, government collaboration and public confidence to continue operating.
She submitted that any loss of donor support could affect healthcare services provided to emaSwati, humanitarian programmes and employment within the organisation.
TLC is represented by Nomfundo Hlophe of K.Q. Magagula Attorneys, while the respondents are represented by Musa Dlamini of Musa Dlamini and Associates.
