Johnnie Isaacs
The Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, has filed urgent court papers to prevent the EFF leader, Julius Malema, from making defamatory statements against him in relation to his enrolment for a Master’s degree at the University of Fort Hare and his subsequent deregistration.
Mabuyane filed the court papers in his personal capacity. He is seeking an interdict, including a costs order against Malema, for claiming that he stole his Master’s qualification from Fort Hare.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Diepkloof residents in Soweto protest over electricity outages
He further seeks an order preventing Malema from conducting any interviews in which he makes claims about him stealing a Master’s degree or obtaining it fraudulently.
His action follows Malema’s refusal to retract and apologise for the remarks he made during an EFF media briefing on 9 April and 16 April, when addressing his supporters outside the East London Magistrate Court in KuGompo.
In that briefing, Malema alleged that the University of Fort Hare had been crippled by ANC politicians who had registered fraudulently, without meeting the minimum requirements, in order to satisfy the education criteria for deployment by the political party.
He specifically mentioned Mabuyane, the Buffalo City Metro mayor Princess Faku, and the former Minister of Public Service and Administration, Noxolo Kiviet, all of whom are currently under investigation by the Special Investigating Unit.
Malema repeated those allegations on 16 April while addressing supporters outside the magistrate’s court in KuGompo.
ALSO READ: SCOPA says RAF claim system shut out poor crash victims
He told police officers maintaining public order that, instead of being there in large numbers, they should go and raid the offices of Mabuyane, who had stolen his Master’s degree.
This follows Malema’s sentencing in the East London Regional Magistrate’s Court, where Magistrate Twanet Olivier sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment for discharging a firearm in a public space, possession of an unlawful firearm and ammunition, recklessness, and failure to take precautions for public safety.
He was granted leave to appeal the sentence but not the guilty verdict.
Mabuyane said the remarks were false, malicious and defamatory.
He argued that the statements constituted a campaign of harassment and defamation aimed at tarnishing his reputation, dignity and integrity.
He said Malema’s statements were not mere political commentary or opinion grounded in publicly known facts.
In his court papers, which Inside Politics has seen, Mabuyane said he applied to enrol for the Master of Administration programme through the recognition of prior learning (RPL) in 2019, shortly after his appointment as Eastern Cape Premier.
This was based on his years of work experience, which included two terms as ANC Eastern Cape provincial secretary and his one-year stint as a member of the executive council of the Eastern Cape government, responsible for Finance, Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
ALSO READ: KZN satisfaction with democracy crashes to 6%, IEC says
He said he was deregistered by the university in March 2021 without prior notice that his enrolment was under review.
He also complained that, after the university appointed a forensic investigative firm to investigate his registration, its report was leaked to the media before it was made available to him, and he was never afforded an opportunity to respond to its contents.
Mabuyane said the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had declined to prosecute him for any criminal allegations arising from his registration.
“These statements have generally lowered my esteem among right-thinking members of society. They have also exposed me to hatred, contempt and ridicule, as members of the public might believe I do not have a basic degree and was involved in stealing a qualification,” said Mabuyane.
He said the scale and prominence of the coverage was itself evidence of the severity of the reputational harm.
Inside Politics has also seen a response from Malema’s legal team, England Slabbert Attorneys, to the previous letter of demand for retraction and apology.
In it, they stated that they had been instructed to oppose any action should Mabuyane elect to proceed with the matter.
Malema’s legal team has stated that he cannot be held liable for widespread allegations that are in the public domain.
And the impugned statement was a call to action for the SIU to finalise the Fort Hare degree saga in which Mabuyane is implicated.
Malema’s legal team has until 30 April to file opposing papers, and the matter is set down for argument on 26 May.
