JUDGMENT has been reserved in the urgent motion lodged by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi at the Durban High Court where he is seeking an interdict against businessman Calvin Mathibeli.

In the matter heard by Judge Sanele Hlatshwayo on Tuesday (February 24), Mkhwanazi, who is represented Advocate Muzi Sikhakhane SC, was seeking an order to stop Mathibeli from making anymore defamatory statements against him.

Mathibeli, who has been at loggerheads with the commissioner for some time, has on numerous occasions publicly accused Mkhwanazi of corruption and accused him of being involved in criminal activity.

In a social media post on February 16, a Facebook account with the chairman of Calvin and Family Group’s name posted a statement with several allegations, including ones of intimidation, a murder plot against him and corrupt dealing within the KZN SAPS.

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This prompted a response from the SAPS, threatening legal action against Mathibeli if he did not retract these allegations. In the statement, also issued on February 16, KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the social media post by “Calvin Mojalefa Mandlakapheli Mathibeli, a businessman in KwaZulu-Natal, were malicious, baseless, unfounded and somewhat threatening”.

“Mr 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 KwaZulu-Natal, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, of issuing an instruction that he should be shot and killed,” said Netshiunda.

“Mr Mathibeli seems to have an obsession with police in KwaZulu-Natal and particularly, the provincial commissioner. Police in KwaZulu-Natal will now seek legal recourse against Mr Mathibeli for his image-tinting utterances.”

Netshiunda added, “His utterances were simply an invitation to police in KwaZulu-Natal to start looking into his business dealings, and police have learnt that he is a beneficiary of a tender with the Department of Health in Gauteng.”

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On Tuesday Mkhwanazi honoured the threat of legal action. In court, Sikhakhane said the application seeks to minimise the damage being caused to his client’s reputation “by calling on the defendant to desist from further publication of the allegations and utterances which were also made on Newzroom Afrika”.

Through his defence team led by Advocate Nigel Riley, Mathibeli argued that the interdict was a way of silencing him should he be called before the Madlanga Commission which is looking into allegations of widespread corruption within the SAPS.

Outside court, Mkhwanazi said they were not litigating the matter to silence Mathibeli if he were to appear before the Commission. “We are only saying to him, stop making false statements,” said Mkhwanazi.

After hearing from both sides, Hlatshwayo reserved his judgement for a later date.

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