Staff Reporter
The Durban High Court has dismissed businessman Calvin Mathibeli’s urgent attempt to stop a police firearms inspection at his Durban North security company on Thursday.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday night, police said the court on Tuesday dismissed Mathibeli’s attempt to interdict the inspection.
The inspection will be conducted under Operation Buyisa, a national intervention that aims to remove illegal firearms from circulation and check compliance by security companies and firearms dealers.
“The court found that Mr Mathibeli’s application lacked urgency and dismissed it with costs,” SAPS said.
“On 19 March 2026, members of Operation Buyisa will proceed with the planned compliance inspection at Calvin and Family Security Services’ premises.”
Section 109 of the Firearms Control Act authorises police or a registrar-authorised official to enter business premises where firearms are used for business purposes and inspect whether licence conditions and other legal requirements are being met.
Police earlier this month raided Mathibeli’s properties in an investigation into allegedly fraudulent tenders, seizing documents and electronic devices.
In February, Mathibeli posted accusations on social media alleging that KZN police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi was corrupt, captured by private interests and involved in extrajudicial violence. He repeated the same claims in media interviews shortly thereafter.
Provincial police called the claims “malicious and baseless” and said they would “take up” Mathibeli’s invitation to investigate him.
Mkhwanazi successfully interdicted Mathibeli from making further allegations, with the Durban High Court ruling in the same month that Mathibeli remove all the damaging posts made about the lieutenant-general.
Judge Sanele Hlatshwayo said he found Mathibeli’s statements to be “defamatory and extremely damaging”, and that Mathibeli was not in possession of any information to back up the claims.
INSIDE POLITICS