In the bustling corridors of power and business in KwaZulu-Natal, a high-profile clash has erupted between a senior police official and a Durban entrepreneur, drawing sharp attention to allegations of corruption and harassment. Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the province's police commissioner, has taken decisive legal action by filing an urgent application in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban. This move aims to silence businessman Calvin Mojalefa Mathibeli, whom Mkhwanazi accuses of unleashing a barrage of defamatory posts on social media that paint him as corrupt and criminal.
The application, lodged on Thursday, seeks to have Mathibeli's statements branded as false and defamatory. Mkhwanazi is pushing for an interdict that would bar Mathibeli from making any further accusations. Crucially, he wants the court to order the immediate removal and retraction of these posts within 24 hours, including any similar claims made on television and radio. To underscore the seriousness, Mkhwanazi has also requested that Mathibeli publish public retractions on the same platforms. The commissioner is asking for damages to be assessed later, either through a separate trial or direct determination, and for Mathibeli to cover all legal costs on an attorney-and-client scale. He has urged the court to hear the matter urgently on 24 February, highlighting the potential harm to his reputation as a leading law enforcement figure.
This legal battle stems from a heated police operation at Mathibeli's business premises last week, which triggered his explosive allegations. Mathibeli has publicly claimed that Mkhwanazi oversees a "captured" provincial police structure, one that allegedly favours business rivals and has even ordered his assassination. In his statements, Mathibeli described the operation as part of a broader campaign of intimidation, asserting that officers arrived unannounced, refused to identify themselves, and forcibly broke into his offices. He alleged that they assaulted a security guard, disarmed him, and held staff against their will, halting operations entirely.
According to Mathibeli, the police later explained that they were conducting a firearm inspection from the national office. Yet, he pointed out that a similar provincial inspection had already taken place in January, lasting over five hours and uncovering no issues. Despite this, 14 licensed firearms were confiscated, and Mathibeli said he has received no information about their storage or status. He framed this incident as the latest in a string of harassments dating back to 2019, including a claim that in December, officers were sent to kill him. Mathibeli also accused police of attempting to arrest him in Gauteng using a fraudulent warrant.
In response, the police have been quick to dismiss Mathibeli's claims as unfounded. Colonel Robert Netshiunda, the police spokesperson, issued a strong media statement labelling the accusations as "malicious, baseless, unfounded and somewhat threatening." Netshiunda elaborated, saying, “In his social media post, Mathibeli recklessly accused police in KwaZulu-Natal of being captured by his competitors and that police are a get-rich-quick scheme. He further accused the provincial commissioner of issuing an instruction that he should be shot and killed.” He stressed that the operation at Mathibeli's premises was directed from head office and had no connection to provincial police.
Netshiunda went on to suggest that Mathibeli's outburst had unintended consequences. “Now that Mr Mathibeli has introduced himself to the police in KwaZulu-Natal, his utterances were simply an invitation to start looking into his business dealings,” he said. Adding fuel to the fire, Netshiunda revealed that police had discovered Mathibeli was a beneficiary of a tender from the Gauteng Department of Health, and they planned to investigate that as well. “Netshiunda added that police had learnt Mathibeli was a beneficiary of a Gauteng Department of Health tender and would now start investigating it.”
Mathibeli, undeterred, hit back at what he sees as retaliation. “This battle is about business people who control the SA Police Service (SAPS) in KwaZulu-Natal and nationally, who have been targeting our business. The statement alone is nothing but a threat with the intention to silence me,” he declared. In a lengthy public statement earlier this week, he escalated his claims, accusing unnamed police figures of turning the SAPS into a "forex, a get-rich-quick scheme" and relying on "protection fees" from security and taxi operators. He wrote, “The plans to kill me in the name of ‘ngidubule kuqala ngibhekise emaphoyiseni’ (I fired shots first in the direction of police officers).”
Mathibeli insisted that he would not back down. “If you think that threats and intimidation will silence me, you are mistaken,” he said, linking the attacks to his upcoming appearance before the Madlanga Commission. He suggested that the harassment was an attempt to bully him in the name of policing, but he remained defiant, vowing to speak out.
This confrontation highlights deeper tensions in South Africa's law enforcement landscape, where accusations of corruption and misuse of power are all too common. Mkhwanazi, as a high-ranking official, argues in his urgent application that Mathibeli's statements are not only false but also damaging to his standing as a dedicated police officer. For Mathibeli, it's a fight for his business and personal safety. As the court date approaches, this saga underscores the fragile balance between free speech and reputation in a country grappling with trust in its institutions. With both sides digging in, the outcome could set a precedent for how such disputes are handled, affecting businesses and officials alike in KwaZulu-Natal and beyond.
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