Malema wins defamation case against Khawula-apology demanded
The Gauteng Local Division of the High Court has ordered social media commentator Musa Khawula to retract defamatory statements made against EFF leader Julius Malema and his wife, Mantoa Matlala Malema, and to pay punitive legal costs.
Justice Wright granted the order on 14 April 2026, declaring that three specific publications by Khawula – identified in court papers as “NOM 1.1”, “NOM 1.2” and “SA1” – were unlawful and defamatory.
The court ordered Khawula to permanently remove the posts from his X account and any other platforms he controls within 24 hours of being served with the order. He must also publish a court-approved apology on his X account and distribute that apology to all media houses and online blogs that repeated his claims.
Khawula is further prohibited from publishing any future defamatory statements similar to the original posts, whether directly or indirectly.
Court cost
The court directed Khawula to pay the costs of the application on the attorney-and-client scale, including the costs of two counsel where they were employed. That is a punitive costs order, meaning Khawula will bear a higher share of the legal expenses than in a standard order.
Origional tweets
According to the court documents, on 25 February 2026, Khawula posted the following messages on his verified X account.
First tweet (NOM 1.1):
“Julius malemara s marriaga is over as his wife matuala files for divorce.
Julius malemara and matuala got married in december 2014 and she could only tolerate so much of his cheatations and decided to end their stressful marriage.
xo, gosip giri, 10:15 PM – Feb 25, 2026, 1M Views”
Second tweet (NOM 1.2):
“Musa Khawula @Musa.Khawula
hi baby, @julius_S_Malema dont get your people to send me coint to shut my ass up.
for forever,
gossip girl,
791.4K Views, 10:34 PM, Feb 25, 2026, 3.1K likes, 862 reposts”
In the first post, Khawula claimed that the Malemas’ marriage was over, that Mantoa Matlala Malema had filed for divorce, and that the alleged divorce was caused by Julius Malema’s infidelity.
In the second post, he alleged that Malema had tried to pay him, or had caused payment to be made to him, to silence him and conceal the supposed divorce.
Both statements were presented as facts. The court found them to be false, unverified and defamatory.
Apology
The proposed apology attached to the court order as “NOM2” states that Khawula unreservedly apologises to Mr and Mrs Malema. It acknowledges that the posts were false, that the couple remain married, that no divorce proceedings have been instituted, that the infidelity allegations are false, and that no payment or attempted payment was ever made to him by Malema or anyone acting on his behalf.
The apology also states that Khawula made the statements without any evidence, that he refused to remove the posts after a letter of demand, and that the High Court has now granted interdictory relief and ordered him to pay punitive costs.
Background
The Malemas launched urgent legal action after Khawula refused to retract his posts following a letter of demand. The court granted substituted service, allowing the order to be served on Khawula through his email addresses, Instagram messaging, and Facebook page.
