ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has filed an urgent application in the Pretoria High Court, stating he fears for his life following defamatory claims made by political fixer Brown Mogotsi. Mbalula is seeking a court order to force Mogotsi to retract allegations that he was involved in the 2015 murder of businessman Wandile Bozwana.
In his founding affidavit, Mbalula argues that Mogotsi’s public statements, made during a series of television interviews, have put his safety at serious risk. “The conduct of Mr Mogotsi threatens my safety, as the family and friends of Mr Wandile Bozwana are made to believe that I am responsible for the murder,” Mbalula stated. He expressed concern that someone from the Bozwana family might seek revenge based on the false information.
Mbalula vehemently denies any involvement, pointing out that Bozwana’s killers were already convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He emphasized that Bozwana was a friend and comrade of 15 years and that a previous high court judgment had already declared similar allegations false and defamatory.
The ANC secretary-general also refuted Mogotsi’s additional claim that his wife, Nozuko, was involved in a corrupt Free State construction tender, labeling all the allegations as malicious and baseless. Mbalula questioned why, if Mogotsi genuinely believed the claims, he had not reported these serious crimes to the police.
After failed attempts to serve Mogotsi with a cease-and-desist letter, Mbalula is now seeking a final interdict to prevent further publication of the claims, a public retraction and apology, and damages of R500,000. Mogotsi has been given until November 18 to file an answering affidavit should he choose to oppose the application.
