Overview
- The Gauteng High Court found Ngizwe Mchunu in contempt on Friday and issued a warrant plus a conditional 10-day jail term if he failed to comply with earlier orders.
- Mchunu filed a profuse, unconditional apology on June 5 that the court accepted, and the judge suspended the arrest warrant provided he does not repeat the prohibited statements during a six-month period.
- The court said Mchunu had deliberately republished prior banned allegations that accused EFF leader Julius Malema of taking money from Nigerian drug dealers and called him insulting names.
- The order requires Mchunu to publish an unreserved apology on all social platforms he used, distribute the apology to media houses that carried his interviews, and pay the legal costs including fees for two counsel.
- A separate case saw content creator Musa Khawula post a sarcastic template apology after his contempt finding, highlighting how courts are testing public retractions as a tool to curb online defamation and raising questions about their real-world deterrent effect.