Overview
- Durban businessman Calvin Mathibeli removed his posts about KZN police chief Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi after Tuesday's High Court decision dismissed his bid to appeal and ordered punitive costs.
- The judgment keeps in place a 27 February order that required him to delete the allegations within 24 hours, barred him from repeating them, and made him pay legal fees.
- His lawyers said on Wednesday he has scrubbed Facebook messages and will stop posting about Mkhwanazi, though they cannot withdraw a past TV interview without a new invitation.
- Mkhwanazi welcomed the outcome as a warning against reckless defamation, and a police spokesperson said the claims risked harming the reputation of the commissioner and the KZN police service.
- The original Facebook post is now restricted from public view and had alleged intimidation, a plot to kill Mathibeli, and corrupt dealings, and the court applied South African defamation powers that allow takedowns and bans on repetition.