World-famous DJ and producer Nkosinathi “Black Coffee” Maphumulo has launched an urgent high court bid to silence controversial music executive Nhlamulo “Nota” Baloyi after a series of explosive social media posts that accused the star of associating with criminals, abuse, and shady financial dealings.
The Grammy-winning DJ, who recently revealed in his divorce case that he is worth more than R1-billion, wants the court to force Baloyi to delete all the posts immediately, order him to publish a full public apology worded exactly the way he wants, and declare the statements false and defamatory.
According to the court papers that this publication has seen, Black Coffee wants to make Baloyi pay legal costs on the harshest possible scale.
The court document shows that Black Coffee first tried to get an emergency order without notifying Baloyi (an “ex parte” application). He has now come back with a second urgent application.
Baloyi, in his responding papers, accuses Black Coffee of using his money and fame to bully and intimidate ordinary people who dare criticise him.
He said the application is not about defamation; it’s about muzzling public discourse on issues that affect society.
Right to freedom of expression
He insists everything he posted is either true or fair comment and is protected by the constitutional right to freedom of expression.
He also accuses Black Coffee of harassing his mother by contacting her directly in an attempt to pressure him, a conduct Baloyi calls intimidatory.
In a bold counterattack, Baloyi is asking the court to dismiss Black Coffee’s case and make the DJ pay punitive legal costs, order Black Coffee to pay R25 000 as compensation for the distress caused to Baloyi’s mother, and ban Black Coffee and his team from contacting Baloyi or his family except through official court channels.
Baloyi wants the matter postponed so Black Coffee can first hand over certain documents he believes will prove his allegations.
In the court papers, he pointed out that Black Coffee waited weeks before bringing the urgent application, even though the posts had been online for some time.
He argues that this shows there is no real urgency, saying Black Coffee is trying to harass and bankrupt him.
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