By Thapelo Molefe
The hight court in Pretoria has ruled in favour of ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, declaring allegations made by a political commentator on social media linking him to the 2015 murder of businessman, Wandile Bozwana, as “defamatory and false”.
Bozwana was gunned down in October 2015 while travelling with his business partner Mpho Baloyi, who survived the attack. The killing shocked the country and led to a lengthy trial.
Last year, four men including Mamelodi taxi boss Vusi “Khekhe” Mathibela were sentenced to 30 years each for the murder.
The court has ordered Anele Mda to remove the posts from all her social media platforms within 24 hours and issue an unconditional retraction and public apology.
The court also interdicted Mda from making any further claims suggesting that Mbalula was directly or indirectly complicit in Bozwana’s killing, saying her posts amounted to “persistent injurious assault” on Mbalula’s character.
It found the matter to be urgent, noting the ongoing and prolonged harm to Mbalula’s dignity and reputation.
Mbalula, who commands more than three million followers on X, argued that the allegations were “false, malicious and reckless”.
The court agreed, stating that Mda had relied on unverified information and displayed “obduracy” even after being served with court papers.
Her defence, which cited a 2019 Citizen article suggesting Mbalula was a person of interest in Bozwana’s murder, was dismissed as fallacious and without factual basis.
“The respondent has been informed of the falsity of the allegations but persists in her conduct. The statements published satisfy the basic defamatory content,” the judgment reads.
Mda had maintained that her comments formed part of public discourse and accused Mbalula of attempting to silence her. She argued the matter was not urgent and that she was merely revisiting allegations that had circulated for years.
Mbalula approached the high court last week.
He stressed the urgency of the matter, citing heightened public scrutiny following recent comments by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi about alleged ties between politicians and criminal networks.
Mbalula said that allowing the claims to circulate unchecked risked reinforcing those perceptions.
Mbalula, who described Bozwana as a friend, spoke at his funeral and has consistently denied any involvement in the crime.
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