EFF president Julius Malema and his wife Mantoa Matlala have filed a contempt of court application against controversial blogger Musa Khawula, seeking to have him jailed for 90 days or fined R150,000.
The application, lodged at the Johannesburg high court on April 22, follows an earlier ruling by judge Gregory Wright ordering Khawula to retract and apologise for defamatory statements about the couple published on social media.
Khawula took to his X account in February, alleging that Malema and Matlala were going through a divorce.
In an affidavit, Malema said Khawula acted in deliberate defiance of the court order almost immediately after it was granted on April 14.
“At approximately 18h56, the very same day after the order was granted and served on Musa Khawula, he published a post on his X account directed at me,” Malema stated.
In the post, Khawula allegedly addressed him directly, writing: “hi @julius_s_malema baby, please find the attached statement for your convenience, xoxo gossip girl.”
Malema said the post was accompanied by a video clip featuring mocking lyrics, including the phrase “sorry not sorry”.
He argued that the posts demonstrate Khawula’s unwillingness to comply with the court order.
“This conduct by Musa Khawula is aggravating in the extreme because it demonstrates that he has knowledge of the order, yet he rejects its authority and publicly ridicules the judicial process before a wide audience on social media,” the affidavit reads.
This establishes a clear mala fide intention, which is to profit from the ongoing defamation and to exploit our reputation for financial gain. He is launching a smear campaign in full knowledge that this conduct is unlawful and prohibited, and makes a mockery of this court for financial gain.
— Affidavit filed by Julius Malema
Malema further alleged that Khawula continued to defame him even after the ruling.
“On 16 April 2026, at approximately 11h47, Musa Khawula further posted: ‘Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years imprisonment in a firearm case — now let’s get back to the divorce allegations, xo.xo gossip girl,’” the affidavit states.
According to Malema, this post revives allegations that have already been declared unlawful and defamatory by the court, reinforcing what he describes as a false narrative about his marriage.
“It must be noted that Musa Khawula’s attempt to frame the statement as allegations does not assist him. The court has already declared this as defamatory and that finding remains binding unless it is set aside,” Malema said.
He argued that Khawula was not only repeating unlawful content but deliberately republishing falsehoods in defiance of a binding court order.
Malema also claimed Khawula’s conduct was commercially motivated.
“This establishes a clear mala fide intention, which is to profit from the ongoing defamation and to exploit our reputation for financial gain. He is launching a smear campaign in full knowledge that this conduct is unlawful and prohibited, and makes a mockery of this court for financial gain,” the affidavit reads.
He added that Khawula’s actions undermine the rule of law and form part of a broader pattern of alleged unlawful behaviour.
“Furthermore, Musa Khawula’s conduct does not occur in isolation. He has a pattern of unlawful and contemptuous conduct, including prior defamation orders against him and contempt of court litigation brought against him,” Malema stated.
Malema is also seeking a costs order against Khawula, arguing that the application was necessitated by the blogger’s continued publication of defamatory allegations despite being formally instructed to withdraw them.
“This application has become necessary solely because of Mr Khawula’s deliberate decision to publish ongoing defamatory allegations about us, despite having no factual foundation for those allegations and despite being formally called upon to withdraw them,” the affidavit reads.
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