Siboniso Duma, the MEC for Transport and Human Settlements.
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THE Department of Transport and Human Settlements said they were "happy" and felt "vindicated" that an attempt by ALS Paramedics to get an interim ban against MEC Siboniso Duma over alleged defamation had "failed dismally" in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
In a statement, posted on social media on Monday, the department said the refusal by Judge Pieter Bezhuidenhout to grant an urgent interdict was a clear support of the strong legal argument advanced by their legal team led by advocate Kwazi Mshengu.
"By and large, the judgment empowers MEC Duma, as an executive authority responsible for road safety, to continue to demonstrate accountability and transparency - all in the interest of ordinary people of KwaZulu-Natal, especially the affected families."
The statement said that ALS Paramedics demonstrated in their court papers and arguments that reputational and commercial interests formed the basis of this frivolous application for an interdict.
"ALS Paramedics, through their Director and Spokesperson, Garrith Jamieson, has on several occasions misled and misinformed members of the public through their reporting. This was demonstrated by evidence in court by advocate Kwazi Mshengu.
"Advocate Mshengu eloquently revealed in court that MEC Duma confronted and corrected Garrith Jamieson and drew his attention to his previous incorrect statements."Surprisingly, in court papers, Garrith Jamieson admits that he relayed incorrect information about the number of persons who had died in the Isipingo accident on the 29th January 2026. He further lies in court papers that he corrected the number.
"In actual fact upon hearing of once again incorrect information supplied by Garrith Jamieson to the MEC, an eThekwini Regional Commander and two Chief Provincial Inspectors from Road Traffic Inspectorate intervened and gave MEC Duma the correct information.
"It was after this misrepresentation of figures by ALS that MEC Duma expressed his concerns to Garrith about his continuous misleading statements. Our court papers reveals that on the 19th January 2026, Garrith Jamieson issued a misleading statement about a scholar transport accident in Sarnia, Pinetown - and in the process igniting a media feeding frenzy.
"In his statement he claimed that 9 people/pupils were injured and treated whereas it was only 3 learners. The accident report details how a car that was parked in the school parking had rolled down and hit a tree. However, through his statement, an impression was created that a massive crash similar to the one that took place in Vanderbijlpark had occurred.
"It was further argued in court by Advocate Kwazi Mshengu that on the 4th July 2025, an accident occurred on the N3 West Bound just after Mariannhill Toll Plaza involving a taxi and another private vehicle where 5 people died on the scene and another died in hospital. Sadly and once again, Garrith Jamieson misinformed the public by stating that the taxi was overloaded with 23 people whereas only 16 people were in the taxi."
The statement said the MEC remained committed to working with all stakeholders for the betterment of people of KwaZulu-Natal.
"He will not shy away from confronting the wrongs and place the people of the province ahead of everything."
ALS Paramedics turned to the court last week to stop Duma from making what it believed to be defamatory comments about them.
On Friday, the Pietermaritzburg High Court failed to make a final finding in ALS Paramedics’ urgent application to restrain Duma from making any written or verbal “defamatory statements” regarding them.
Judge Bezuidenhout said that based on the papers before him, he could not issue the gagging order the paramedics’ company sought. He granted both parties the opportunity to supplement their court papers if they so wished.
He ordered that Duma must, on May 4, show cause why he should not be interdicted, in his capacity as MEC, from making comments that ALS Paramedics deemed defamatory.
The controversy was sparked by recent comments Duma made about ALS Paramedics at the scene of a fatal R102 accident, in which at least 11 people lost their lives.
Speaking at the crash scene, Duma alleged that private ALS ambulances were “bulldozing” accident scenes, behaving insensitively, and refusing to assist patients without medical aid, even in life-threatening circumstances.
He stated that this was why the provincial government preferred relying on ambulances dispatched by the Department of Health.
ALS Paramedics subsequently formally demanded a public retraction and apology through its lawyers. Since no apology was received, the ambulance service opted to go to court.
Court papers submitted on behalf of ALS Paramedics state that Duma made these statements on two occasions on the same day, January 29, and that it may continue if he was not issued with an interdict.
ALS Paramedics said it was vulnerable to such comments and that it was necessary to prevent it from continuing.