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ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has secured a gag order against Brown Mogotsi.
Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images
- The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has granted ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula a gag order against Brown Mogotsi’s claims linking him to North West businessman Wandile Bozwana’s death and corruption schemes.
- Judge Jacobus Strydom found Mogotsi’s public allegations to be defamatory and harmful to Mbalula’s reputation.
- He ordered Mogotsi to retract his statements from all platforms within 48 hours and prohibited future defamatory interviews, with damages to be determined later.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has secured a gag order against Brown Mogotsi after Mogotsi publicly accused him of being responsible for the murder of North West businessman Wandile Bozwana and benefitting from a Free State housing scandal.
In the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday, Judge Jacobus Strydom found that Mogotsi’s claims were false and defamatory.
Mogotsi, who made the allegations during interviews with the SABC and Newzroom Afrika, failed to appear in court.
In his judgment, Strydom said Mogotsi’s statements painted Mbalula as a “murderer, corrupt, lacking integrity, and untrustworthy”.
“It is vital and in [the] public interest that a person holding the office of secretary-general of the ANC should be free from blemish, especially allegations of corruption.”
READ | Mogotsi is ‘a disgruntled information peddler,’ says Mbalula ahead of defamation case
Mogotsi has been linked to claims at the Madlanga Commission that he sought funds, supposedly for suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, from alleged crime boss Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala.
He was called to testify following the explosive July allegations of police capture by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkwanazi, who claimed drug kingpins and other criminals had infiltrated the cops. At the commission, Mogotsi, without proof, claimed to be a crime intelligence informer.
Strydom noted that the Mogotsi had previously been asked to retract the statements about Bozwana’s death and linking it to Mbalula.
The judge said, instead, he continued to publicly repeat them, impacting Mbalula’s career and causing threats to Mbalula’s family from the public.
Strydom continued:
This demeaning and defamatory nature have not been denied. The statement has been shown to be defamatory; it is presumed the statement was published wrongfully and with the intention to injure the reputation of [Mbalula].
The court order detailed defamatory allegations made by Mogotsi, including that an unnamed source had proof that Mbalula was with Bozwana’s convicted murderer, taxi boss Vusi Mathibela, and that Mbalula travelled overseas with him.
“There has been no attempt to prove [the] truth. There is no defence of fair comment, and the statements are made with the intent to injure. I am also of the view that [Mogotsi] is liable to pay damages.”
The court ordered Mogotsi to retract the defamatory statements within 48 hours from all media platforms and delete any related statements on social media.
ALSO READ | Brown Mogotsi utterances used as new evidence in Mbalula vs Anele Mda defamation spat
He is also prohibited from conducting any interviews that imply Mbalula’s involvement in the defamatory allegations.
Mbalula originally requested R500 000 in damages, but abandoned that specific amount to have damages argued at a later stage through oral evidence.
The judgment represents another legal victory for Mbalula, who previously secured a gag order against commentator Anele Mda over similar allegations relating to the Bozwana murder.
