Ntuli rose to prominence through his activities in the eThekwini branch of the ANC, the party's largest in the country; he was a member of the ANC Regional Executive Committee in eThekwini as early as 2012.[1] In December 2015, he was elected Regional Secretary of the eThekwini ANC, a full-time position; he served under Regional Chairperson Zandile Gumede, who subsequently became Mayor of eThekwini.[2] By 2018, it was widely reported that Ntuli and Gumede had a tense relationship,[3][4] and Ntuli was touted as a possible successor to Gumede.[5]
At the same time, the opposition Democratic Alliance alleged that Ntuli was attempting "to control the city from Commercial City [ANC regional headquarters]".[6] In December 2016, the party claimed that he was attempting to influence employment processes at eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality; it also said that Ntuli frequently attended meetings of the ANC's caucus in the council, despite not holding any public position in the council.[6] Ntuli also caused a minor scandal in September 2017 when a video of his bodyguards – filmed brandishing guns and threatening to kill somebody – went viral on social media; the bodyguards were subsequently fired.[7][8][9][10][11]
In 2019, the ANC Provincial Executive Committee in KwaZulu-Natal removed Ntuli, Gumede, and the other regional leaders from office on the grounds that they had exceeded their three-year term.[12] However, Ntuli was appointed to the interim task team that was formed to lead the regional branch until new leadership elections could be held; he was appointed deputy coordinator, serving under coordinator Mluleki Ndobe,[13] and he took over as coordinator after Ndobe died in 2020.[14]
As the elections approached, Ntuli campaigned to be re-elected as Regional Secretary, aligning himself with a slate of candidates headed by Thabani Nyawose, who would run against Gumede for the chairmanship.[15][16] Nyawose's slate was aligned to ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa, whereas Gumede's slate was associated with supporters of former President Jacob Zuma.[17] The Sunday Times reported that Ntuli was additionally developing a fledgling alliance with ANC Treasurer-General Paul Mashatile.[18]
However, when the conference was held in April 2022, Nyawose lost to Gumede and Ntuli lost to Musa Nciki, Gumede's running mate; he received 174 votes against the 217 received by Nciki.[19] Nonetheless, in July 2022, Ntuli was elected to a four-year term on the Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC's KwaZulu-Natal branch.[20]