Businessman Calvin Mathibelo Removes Defamatory Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi Posts Following Court Order

• Businessman Calvin Mathibeli has deleted all defamatory posts about General Mkhwanazi following a court order
• Mathibeli promised not to make any further comments about Mkhwanazi on social media
• The Durban High Court dismissed his appeal and ordered him to comply within 24 hours, with punitive costs

DURBAN—Businessman Calvin Mathibeli has followed a court order by deleting all posts that were found to be defamatory against General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. This follows a Durban High Court order where Mathibeli lost his appeal yesterday, 31 March 2026.

What does the court order entail?

According to a letter shared on X by journalist Desan Thathiah, Mathibeli’s lawyers confirmed that not only will Mathibeli take down comments on Mkwanazi on social media, he has also promised not to make similar comments against the g in the future.

The letter from his lawyers states that their client has complied with the order as far as within his control by deleting all messages and comments on your client from his Facebook account, where they were previously posted. They further say he will refrain from any further posts in the future.

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Mathibeli loses his appeal

Mathibeli had appeared in court seeking to overturn the original ruling. The case started when General Mkhwanazi filed a complaint after Mathibeli accused him of corruption, being captured, and being part of a hit squad. The High Court had initially ordered Mathibeli to publicly retract his statements, which were deemed defamatory.

The High Court later dismissed Mathibeli’s appeal and imposed punitive costs. The court gave him 24 hours to comply with the order.

Social media reacts

@Honorabledawgs said:

"He must buy an advert slot at Enca. Just to apologise and retract his utterances he made there."

@IamTomTsibinki said:

"Not enough, the 'apology' must be as loud as the disrespect. He must go back to those broadcasters and retract."

@LilaSonga said:

"Tail between legs. The arrogance of having attorneys to write an apology on your behalf is what cost him all this money in the first place."

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@Chairperson031 said:

"We demand an apology on his Facebook page and be there for 90 days. He must also go back to eNCA & Newzroom to apologise there as well, hence he made claims in those platforms."

@memzabubu said:

"It hasn't, we know all what the order says. It's not only removing but publicly saying it. General, go for it. He was running up and down at the media houses. We're waiting for him."

SAPS granted permission to search Mathibeli's properties

In related news, the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban dismissed businessman Calvin Mathibeli’s attempts to block the South African Police Service (SAPS) from looking into his security business. The SAPS was granted an application to conduct a firearms compliance inspection at Calvin and Family Security Services in Durban North on 19 March 2026. SAPS notified Mathibeli that the scheduled compliance inspection was to take place as part of Operation Buyisa. Operation Buyisa is an operation aimed at removing illegal firearms from circulation and ensuring compliance by security companies and firearms dealers.

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Previously, Briefly News reported that during a raid on Mathibeli's business premises, police discovered that the firearms register, which should be completed in ink, was filled out in pencil. According to police records, the company should have had more than 850 guns, but only had 815 firearms recorded in the books. Mathibeli told police that some of his firearms were seized by officers in Inanda.

Source: Briefly News