The High Court in Durban, yesterday, DISMISSED with costs, the request of prominent businessman, Mr. Calvin Mathibeli, to appeal the case.
According to KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, Mathibeli had filed an appeal against the decision issued by the court on February 26 this year.
On that day, the court ordered him to delete all his comments on social media, which defamed the name of the KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
“The court had given him 24 hours to do that. It said that he should remove himself from websites as well as online media,” said Netshiunda.
He was then ordered not to accuse Mkhwanazi again with false accusations, and he was ordered to pay all the lawyers’ fees.
Netshiunda said that the defamatory allegations made by Mathibeli could have tarnished the reputation of Mkhwanazi as well as the KwaZulu-Natal police force.
He said Mkhwanazi accepted the court’s final decision, and said it was an important lesson for those who simply defame people without evidence.
“This is a victory for law-abiding South African citizens, who do not engage in crime and who dream of a crime-free country. Anyone can be accused, but defamation should not be part of the debate,” he said.
He said the law belongs to everyone because it is a universal right, which is in the Constitution and must be respected at all times.