The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban has granted an urgent interim interdict in favour of KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, restraining Durban businessman Calvin Mojalefa Mathibeli from repeating or publishing allegations that the commissioner is corrupt, abuses police authority, or participates in unlawful killings.
The judgment, delivered on Friday by Hlatshwayo J, follows statements made by Mathibeli on social media and during a televised interview on Newsroom Afrika, in which he allegedly accused Mkhwanazi of issuing instructions to kill and being captured by private interests.
Mkhwanazi approached the court in his personal capacity, contending that the statements were false, unlawful and defamatory, and had caused ongoing damage to his dignity, reputation and standing as the head of policing in KwaZulu-Natal.
The court heard an argument from Advocate Muzi Sikhakhane SC, who appeared for the applicant and submitted that the remarks, viewed in context, portrayed the commissioner as a criminal and corrupt public official who abuses police power. The court agreed with this characterisation, holding that a reasonable reader or viewer would interpret the statements as alleging criminality, dishonesty and complicity in unlawful killings.
Mathibeli admitted making the statements but denied that they were directed at Mkhwanazi and argued that they were true, made in the public interest, and raised in a whistleblowing context. He also contended that the matter lacked urgency, pointing to other allegations against the commissioner already in the public domain.
The court rejected these defences, finding that the respondent had failed to provide any factual basis to substantiate the truth of the allegations or to support a public-interest defence. It held that serious accusations of corruption and unlawful killings, made without an evidentiary foundation, were inherently defamatory and extremely damaging to both the applicant’s personal reputation and the public’s confidence in the police service.
On urgency, the court ruled that the continued circulation of the statements on social media constituted ongoing harm to dignity that could not be adequately remedied by a later damages claim. The court emphasised that the constitutional right to dignity remains protected even where public officials are subject to criticism, and that they are entitled to immediate protection against unsubstantiated defamatory attacks.
Balancing freedom of expression against the right to dignity and reputation, the court held that unverified allegations of criminal conduct fall outside the protection of free speech.
The interim order restrains Mathibeli, pending a damages action, from publishing or repeating any statements alleging or implying that Mkhwanazi is corrupt, criminal, captured by private interests, abuses police authority, or issues unlawful instructions to kill. He has also been directed to remove and retract all defamatory publications from social media and digital platforms within 24 hours, and to issue public retractions on the same television or radio platforms where the statements were made.
Mkhwanazi has been ordered to institute an action for damages within 60 days. The respondent must pay the costs of the urgent application, including the costs of two counsel.
The ruling reinforces the readiness of South African courts to grant urgent interdictory relief in defamation matters where ongoing publication causes continuous harm to dignity and public trust, particularly where grave allegations are made against senior public officials without supporting evidence.
IOL
