Troubles continue to mount for controversial Amabhinca president Ngizwe Mchunu. Following the recent torching of his home in KwaZulu-Natal, Mchunu has now suffered a legal setback after the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria ruled in favour of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema.
The ruling follows a series of public interviews conducted by Mchunu in Pretoria and Johannesburg, during which he made serious allegations claiming that Malema had received millions from Nigerian drug dealers and was involved in criminal activities.
The court found Mchunu’s statements to be unlawful and defamatory, and has interdicted him from publishing or repeating the allegations pending the final determination of the matter.
The EFF said the claims were widely circulated across social media platforms as part of what it described as a coordinated campaign aimed at damaging the reputation of the party president ahead of the upcoming local government elections.
EFF spokesperson Thembi Msane said in a statement that the party is deeply concerned by what it describes as an emerging and dangerous trend in South African public discourse, where the organisation is deliberately targeted for its ethical, Pan-Africanist and historically grounded position on immigration, particularly regarding fellow Africans from across the continent.
“Opportunists and scam artists such as Ngizwe Mchunu are exploiting the genuine socio-economic frustrations facing our people in order to spread xenophobic hysteria, incite hatred against African nationals, and manufacture enemies out of vulnerable communities,” she said.
Msane said the EFF has consistently maintained that crime in South Africa must be tackled through effective policing, intelligence coordination, improved border management and meaningful economic transformation, rather than through the scapegoating of fellow Africans.
She added that history has shown that xenophobic incitement and violence have resulted only in destruction, shame, displacement, injuries and the loss of innocent lives, while failing to address the structural causes of poverty, unemployment, inequality and crime.
Msane said Malema welcomed the ruling as an important victory, not only for himself personally, but for the broader principle that truth must prevail over propaganda and organised disinformation.
“The courts have sent a clear message that freedom of expression does not include the freedom to defame others with baseless criminal allegations,” she concluded.