EFF leader Julius Malema has accused Patriotic Alliance (PA) deputy president Kenny Kunene of waging a politically motivated smear campaign, as he seeks urgent court relief over claims that he was beholden to late taxi boss and alleged “Big 5” cartel leader Jotham “Mswazi” Msibi.
Malema has launched an urgent defamation lawsuit in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg after Kunene alleged, during an episode of Podcast and Chill with Mac G, that the EFF leader would rush to Msibi’s farm “at midnight, at two o'clock” whenever called, and was effectively under the late taxi boss’ control.
Kunene has now doubled down in his legal response, placing before court sworn statements from two men who claim they personally saw Malema delivering bundles of cash and a very expensive bottle of Macallan whisky to Msibi at his Uvivi Lodge compound in Hammanskraal.
Malema, in turn, has branded those accounts “bizarre”, denying the alleged clandestine midnight meetings and accusing Kunene of trying to delegitimise his work in Parliament and at the Madlanga Commission.
In an affidavit filed in support of his urgent application, Malema insists Kunene is “playing to the public gallery" and “making unsubstantiated, spurious allegations against me to gain political advantage”.
“It is a matter of public record that as an active member of Parliament, I am serving as a member of the parliamentary ad hoc committee to investigate allegations made by Lieutenant General (Nhlanhla) Mkhwanazi; Mr Kunene’s impugned statements made during the podcast (Podcast and Chill with Mac G) as well as the content of his answering affidavit and the introduction of the two witness statements is nothing but a weak attempt to discredit me in the eyes of the public and the EFF constituency that I serve,” he added.
“If Mr Kunene’s impugned statements are not retracted, the statements will be seen by the public as delegitimising my participation as a member in the parliamentary ad hoc committee. Mr Kunene’s statement that I ‘am at the centre’ implies that I am central to this criminal conduct and that I am abusing my power as a member of Parliament.”
Malema says Kunene’s comments – and the witness affidavits that followed – are designed to paint him as subservient to Msibi, and entangled in organised crime.
According to Malema, Msibi was “reported to have been a taxi boss who was one of the leaders in the taxi cartel” and was “also reportedly linked to the drug trafficking cartel in the underworld and is also alleged to be responsible for assassinations”.
By invoking these allegations and tying him to Msibi through supposed late-night visits, Malema argues, Kunene is effectively accusing him of criminality and moral bankruptcy.
“A reasonable listener will be left with the impression that my alleged close association with Mr Mswazi means that I acted immediately on Mr Mswazi’s instructions. The reasonable listener will also be left with the impression that I am incapable of my own independent thought and actions. A reasonable listener will also be led to believe that, as a member of Parliament, I am dishonest and I engage in criminal conduct.”
Kunene’s defence relies heavily on the sworn statements of Tshepo Molekoa – who describes himself as Msibi’s “right-hand man, chef and caregiver in his last days” – and a man identified only as “Witness A”. Both claim Malema visited Uvivi Lodge in the early hours of the morning, bringing cash and “very expensive Macallan whisky” for Msibi.
Malema flatly rejects their version, saying it is riddled with improbabilities and unsupported assertions.
“The version contained in the two witnesses’ affidavits is so far-fetched that it must be rejected out of hand,” Malema contends, after arguing that neither man provided any evidence that they knew or worked for Msibi.”
He added:
“For the witnesses to suggest that I gifted a bottle of whisky to Mr Msibi and then got into my car and drove from Uvivi Lodge in the early hours of the morning is absurd. I value my responsibilities as a member of Parliament and would not endanger my reputation in such a reckless manner.
“In addition, I am always accompanied by a driver and protection officers. How would I be holding alleged secret meetings in Uvivi Lodge, which is situated in Hammanskraal, without my driver and protection officers finding out about it?”
Malema’s own account of his relationship with Msibi has also come under scrutiny.
While he initially failed to disclose that he knew Msibi personally and had delivered a eulogy at his January 2024 funeral, he now concedes that he met the taxi boss on several occasions. Those meetings, he says, were arranged and attended by businessman Ze Nxumalo, whose name has repeatedly surfaced in evidence before the Madlanga Commission.
It emerged during the testimony of the recently arrested Sergeant Fannie Nkosi that Nxumalo had put the police under significant pressure to arrest celebrity blogger Musa Khawula over his posts about Nxumalo’s alleged unfaithfulness to his wife, former Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green-Nxumalo.
Nkosi revealed that Nxumalo, who was allegedly also close to Msibi, even paid for police officers to attend a concert that Khawula was set to appear at so they could arrest him.
After previously emphasising that Msibi had been reported to be linked to serious criminality, Malema is now stressing his role in the formal taxi industry.
He describes Msibi as a founding member of the South African National Taxi Council – “a powerful roleplayer in the South African economy” – and frames their relationship as rooted in legitimate political and logistical concerns.
“As a political leader, I take a keen interest in knowing about the broader interests that affect our society and our people. My constituency in the EFF consists of many ordinary, hard-working South Africans who use public transport on a daily basis. The EFF also needs transport services when rallies and other public events are held. I always met with Mr Msibi in Mr Ze Nxumalo’s presence and I discussed transport needs for the EFF rallies and other events,” he said.
“There is nothing wrong with my meeting Mr Msibi and having these discussions.”
Malema now admits he met Msibi at Uvivi Lodge in Hammanskraal, but insists those interactions were neither secret nor conducted in the dead of night.
While now admitting he met with Msibi at his Uvivi Lodge compound in Hammanskraal, Malema says there were “no clandestine meetings held between me and Mr Msibi, which were held at midnight or during the early hours of the morning, as alleged by the two witnesses”.
“I admit that I met with Mr Msibi at Uvivi Lodge, but my meetings with Mr Msibi were never held alone – Mr Ze Nxumalo always attended the meetings with us,” he said.
“I reject the implication that I only met Mr Msibi on a secret basis in the early hours of the morning. I also used to meet Mr Msibi in public places, for example, at the Saxon Hotel in Johannesburg. I also met Mr Msibi at Mr Ze Nxumalo’s office in Sandton, Johannesburg.”
Malema says Nxumalo backs up his account in an affidavit, though that document was not attached to his own court papers. He further questions the internal consistency of the evidence put up by Kunene’s witnesses.
According to Malema, it was also “strange” that both Molekoa and Witness A “appear to speak with one voice about the counting of the alleged cash, but they do not attempt to say anything about the nature of the discussions held at the table”.
“This is also bizarre and shows that their story is untrue,” he added.
Malema’s lawyers have requested an urgent case management meeting with acting Gauteng High Court Deputy Judge President Thifhelimbilu Mudau to address their concerns around the witness evidence and the timetable for the urgent hearing.
Malema’s urgent defamation case against Kunene is scheduled to be heard on 14 April. The outcome will not only determine whether Kunene must retract and apologise for his claims, but may also shape public perceptions of Malema’s role on the parliamentary ad hoc committee probing allegations raised by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and evidence before the Madlanga Commission.
