[4] In March 2012, he stood for election as Regional Chairperson of the ANC's eThekwini region, the ANC's largest branch in the country, but he was narrowly defeated by Sibongiseni Dhlomo, won received 277 votes to Ntombela's 242.
[6] In November 2015, he stood unsuccessfully for election as Provincial Secretary of the KwaZulu-Natal ANC; he ran on a slate aligned to outgoing Provincial Chairperson Senzo Mchunu, and he was defeated by Super Zuma.
[6] In July 2020, he was appointed as official spokesperson of the KwaZulu-Natal ANC, succeeding Ricardo Mthembu, who had died of COVID-19 complications earlier that month.
[1] In December 2021, Ntombela was elected Deputy Regional Chairperson of the ANC's Moses Mabhida branch in Umgungundlovu District, the party's second largest branch in KwaZulu-Natal; in that capacity he served under Regional Chairperson Mzimkhulu Thebolla.
[7] He was re-elected to another four-year term on the ANC's Provincial Executive Committee in July 2022.