Court shuts the door on Anele Mda’s appeal in Mbalula defamation fight

Court shuts the door on Anele Mda’s appeal in Mbalula defamation fight

The long-running legal battle between social commentator Anele Mda and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has hit another dead end and this time, the court did not mince its words.

On Thursday, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Mda’s application for leave to appeal a defamation ruling that went against her last year. In a sharply worded judgment, the court found that her case lacked any solid legal footing, describing it as irrational and built on unreliable hearsay.

A judgment with little patience

Presiding Judge Selby Baqwa made it clear that the appeal attempt did not meet the legal threshold required to move forward. He rejected Mda’s repeated arguments, ruled that her interpretation of the law was flawed, and shut down her effort to introduce new material, saying it was both inadmissible and irrelevant.

The court also reaffirmed its earlier finding that Mda’s statements about Mbalula were false, defamatory and made with malice. In short, the judge was not persuaded that there was any reasonable prospect that another court would come to a different conclusion.

How this case began

The dispute traces back to a series of social media posts in which Mda publicly implicated Mbalula in the 2015 murder of tender tycoon Wandile Bozwana. Those allegations, amplified on X (formerly Twitter), sparked outrage and drew national attention, given Mbalula’s high-profile political role.

In August 2025, the court ruled decisively in Mbalula’s favour. Mda was ordered to delete the posts, issue an apology, and was interdicted from making any further statements suggesting that Mbalula was directly or indirectly involved in Bozwana’s killing.

The murder at the centre of it all

Bozwana was gunned down in October 2015 along Garsfontein Road in Pretoria while driving with business associate Betty Mpho Baloyi, who survived the attack. The case shocked the country at the time and became a symbol of violent crime linked to business and tender disputes.

Last year, notorious taxi boss Vusi “Khekhe” Mathibela and three co-accused were each sentenced to 30 years in prison for Bozwana’s murder, a key fact the court has repeatedly noted when dismissing attempts to link Mbalula to the crime.

Public reaction and the bigger picture

The latest ruling has sparked renewed debate online about accountability on social media. Legal analysts and commentators have pointed out that the case sends a strong warning: serious allegations, especially involving murder, cannot be casually made without evidence, even under the banner of activism or commentary.

While Mda still has the option of petitioning the Supreme Court of Appeal for special leave, Thursday’s judgment makes it clear that the High Court considers the matter legally settled.

Beyond the individuals involved, the case has become a touchstone in South Africa’s evolving conversation about free speech, defamation, and the real-world consequences of posting unverified claims in a hyper-connected political climate.

{Source: The Citizen}

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