The high court in Mpumalanga has given a local ANC activist 14 days to publicly apologise for false claims that former deputy president David Mabuza had a hand in a spate of political killings in the province.
According to the court ruling this week, Pompies Letwaba has to approach TV news channels NewzroomAfrica and eNCA within 14 days of the court’s order to arrange for the airing and publication of the apology.
Should NewzroomAfrica and eNCA refuse to give Letwaba sufficient airtime to make the apology, “[Mabuza] is entitled to approach this court again, on the same papers duly supplemented, for appropriate alternative relief”, ruled judge Brian Mashile.
Mashile interdicted and restrained Letwaba from making any oral or written statements and/or stating publicly that Mabuza was responsible for ordering the killing of people while serving as premier of Mpumalanga, as well as the following list of statements:
• That Mabuza was the cause of problems in the country and in the ANC
• That Mabuza is responsible for the killing of whistleblowers
• That Mabuza is one of South Africa’s most feared politicians and/or persons
• That Mabuza knows the identity of the masterminds of political assassinations in Mpumalanga
• And that Mabuza has caused cases opened against him to disappear
Mashile’s written apology for Letwaba reads: “On 3 February 2021 and 18 October 2021, I publicly stated on interviews given on NewzroomAfrika and eNCA, respectively, that Mr David Mabuza, the then deputy president of South Africa and the African National Congress, was responsible for political killings in Mpumalanga and made related allegations.
“I made these statements without evidence and I appreciate that they are false. In the circumstances, I unreservedly retract the statements which I made and apologise to the former deputy president for having made them.”
In his defence, Letwaba had told the court that the statements were truthful, made in the interest of the public, and constituted fair comment.
He further said the comments had been made in the public domain for decades.
In furtherance to this point, he adds that there are hundreds of thousands of hits on the worldwide web, published books, investigative articles, and research reports which have never been challenged by [Mabuza].
The court disagreed, ruling that “it is clear from the papers filed that the statements made were not substantiated with any evidence”.
Mashile said Letwaba had the opportunity to obtain such evidence which would form part of the application. But, instead, his “answering affidavit is riddled with innuendos”.
He added that Letwaba “knew or ought to have known that he would eventualy have to substantiate his claim, and this application would have been the best platform to do so”.
“It is my view that the statements made had the effect of damaging the reputation of [Mabuza]. This is more so since these statements have nothing to do with [Mabuza’s] official duties or their execution thereof,” said Mashile.
“The statements levied against [Mabuza] were conspicuously offensive and had an effect of lowering [Mabuza] in the eyes of a reasonable man.
“They had or have far-reaching consequences which have or will negatively affect [Mabuza] personally and in his office. I find that the statements made were defamatory.”
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