The ANC in greater Johannesburg has given ousted Joburg DA mayor Mpho Phalatse a 48-hour ultimatum to apologise for saying the party is corrupt.

"We want her to retract that statement and publicly apologise to the ANC within 48 hours, otherwise we will take legal action," ANC regional spokesperson Chris Vondo warned on ENCA on Thursday.

"It must be put on record that we are calling on her to retract and apologise for calling the ANC corrupt."

This is a bizarre and dubious ultimatum by Vondo as even party President Cyril Ramaphosa publicly admitted the ANC was accused number 1 in the looting of the state during his predecessor Jacob Zuma's tenure.

Ramaphosa made the statement when he appeared at the state capture commission of inquiry last year.

Phalatse, who was voted out as mayor last week, wasted no time in responding to Vondo's ultimatum.

"I don't need 48 hours, the ANC is corrupt," she said on her Twitter account.

Following last week's ousting, Phalatse filed papers in court to have the council meeting that voted her out declared unlawful.

The matter is expected to be heard on 11 October.

This was seen in many quarters as Phalatse's desperate attempt to fight her removal.

During her media briefing on Wednesday, Phalatse vowed not to go down without a fight.

"There is no way that I will back down now, at the first sign of adversity at the hands of a takeover by a corrupt few. I made promises to the people of Joburg before last year's elections, and I repeated those promises when I took office in January."

She added: "I will not allow the coalition of corruption to simply waltz back in and undo everything we've accomplished here. We must tell the corrupt cabal that they are not welcome here. I too will be doing my part by seeing this court battle through."

This was another indication that the battle for control of Joburg, which has a handsome budget of R77.7 billion, is far from over.