Court orders Ngizwe Mchunu to cease defamatory statements against Julius Malema
Image: Imifanekiso egciniweyo
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has interdicted Ngizwe Mchunu from making further defamatory remarks about Julius Malema after finding that statements made during two interviews were “unlawful and defamatory”.
The urgent order, handed down by Judge Khumalo on Tuesday, follows comments made by Mchunu during interviews on April 28 and April 30,2026, in which he accused Malema of corruption, links to illegal immigrants and benefiting financially from criminal activity.
In one of the statements placed before court, Mchunu alleged that Malema had “recently got 60 million from Nigerian drug dealers” and claimed the EFF leader was “willing to lose everything that he has politically in order to protect Nigerians and other illegal immigrants.”
During another interview in Johannesburg on April 30, Mchunu launched a series of personal and political attacks against the opposition leader.
“I won't speak about a dead snake, Julius Malema is like a dead snake something that won't wake up,” Mchunu said in the translated transcript before adding that Malema “must go to jail”.
He further accused Malema of taking money from “On Point Engineering”, “loot[ing] VBS”, and “eating money of illegal foreigners”, while again alleging that the politician was receiving “60 million dollars from illegal foreigners”.
Mchunu also referred to Malema as “a political devil” and claimed that “the president is scared of him”.
The High Court ruled that the statements constituted defamatory conduct and ordered Mchunu not to repeat the allegations “explicitly, impliedly, or otherwise”.
“Pending the final determination of the relief sought in Part B, the Respondent is ordered not to publish, or cause to be published, any further defamatory statements about or otherwise concerning the Applicant,” the order reads.
The court further ordered Mchunu to pay costs on a punitive attorney-and-client scale, including the costs of two counsel.
The issue of damages and final relief will be determined at a later stage, while Mchunu has been directed to appear in court on May 19, 2026 to show cause why the interim order should not be made final.
IOL News