The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has ruled that social commentator Anele Mda’s tweets implicating ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula in the 2015 murder of businessman Wandile Bozwana are “false and defamatory.”
Delivering judgment on Monday, Judge Selby Baqwa dismissed Mda’s defence, saying she had failed to prove the allegations were true or in the public interest.
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“The defences of ‘truth’ and ‘public interest’ are not available to a person who does not plead that what she published was substantially true. The respondent herein falls into this category,” Baqwa said.
He added: “What cannot be denied is that the respondent’s defamatory remarks constituted an unabated assault on his reputation in the face of objective evidence of the killers of the deceased having been dealt with by our courts. This shows malice and ill-will harboured by her utterances, even in her answering affidavit.”
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Court Orders Anele Mda’s Retraction and Apology
Judge Baqwa ruled that Mda’s tweets, made on a public platform, were “unlawful” and directly targeted Mbalula.
“The allegations, made by the respondent on her Twitter feed about the Applicant, are declared to be defamatory and false. The respondent is directed to remove the statements, within 24 hours, from all her social media platforms, including the respondent’s Twitter accounts,” he said.
Mda was further ordered to post a notice on all her platforms unconditionally retracting the allegations and publicly apologising to Mbalula within 24 hours.
Interdict and Legal Costs
In addition to the retraction and apology, Baqwa granted an interdict preventing Mda from publishing any further statements suggesting that Mbalula was directly or indirectly involved in Bozwana’s killing.
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The court also imposed a punitive costs order against Mda.
Her lawyer, Eric Mabuza, confirmed that she intends to appeal the ruling.
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