By Charmaine Ndlela
Former Ukhozi FM presenter and activist Ngizwe Mchunu has apologised to EFF leader Julius Malema and retracted defamatory allegations after two High Court orders barred him from repeating the claims.
Mchunu issued the written apology on Thursday, after the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria ruled in May that statements he had made about Malema were unlawful and defamatory.
In the apology, he said: “I have considered and applied my mind on the court order handed down by the Honourable Judge Khumalo on the 12th of May 2026 and the order handed down by the Honourable Judge Lukhaimane on the 19th of May 2026, and having sought legal counsel, I have come to a full appreciation of the implications of the Court order(s) and to that end, I take this opportunity to profusely apologise to Mr. Julius Sello Malema, the President of the Economic Freedom Fighters (“the EFF”). I further confirm that I will refrain from publishing and issuing impugned statements in future.”
Mchunu added: “Accordingly, I retract the statements referred to in the Court orders mentioned in paragraph 1 above, the said statements are depicted below;”
He further said: “Furthermore, I withdraw all defamatory statements issued after the court order(s) had been handed down.”
“I call upon the public and those who support me to accept my statement and decision,” Mchunu said.
The case stems from remarks Mchunu made during public interviews in Pretoria and Johannesburg in late April, in which he accused Malema of receiving money from Nigerian drug dealers and protecting undocumented foreign nationals.
Malema and the EFF denied the allegations and launched urgent legal action, arguing that the statements were false, malicious, and defamatory.
The High Court granted an interim order on 12 May, interdicting Mchunu from publishing or repeating the allegations pending the finalisation of the matter. The order was later made final on 19 May.
Malema’s lawyers had earlier demanded that Mchunu retract the statements, issue a public apology, publish the apology on his social media platforms, and pay R1 million in damages.
