JOHANNESBURG – The Full Bench of the High Court in Johannesburg has upheld an appeal by Jason Mkhwane, supply chain management (SCM) manager at Emfuleni Local Municipality, setting aside a previous dismissal of his defamation lawsuit against the municipality’s chief financial officer (CFO) Andile Philip Dyakala.
The court declared Dyakala’s posts on a workplace WhatsApp group unlawful and defamatory, ordering him to pay R100 000 in general damages and publish a formal apology.
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Origin of defamation proceedings
The legal dispute arose from a series of WhatsApp messages published by Dyakala in December 2019 on a work-related group named “SCM Management”. The group comprised roughly ten senior managers and employees within the municipality’s SCM division who reported to Dyakala.
In the messages, Dyakala accused Mkhwane of having “normalised CORRUPTION”, described him as a “renowned bully”, alleged that Mkhwane’s attorney had “looted R52 million”, and stated that he did not “fight with looters”. In response, Mkhwane launched defamation proceedings, emphasising that as a supply chain professional, public allegations of corruption struck directly at his professional integrity and credibility.
Dyakala admitted publishing the statements but claimed justification, alleging that Mkhwane had previously disclosed a political “mandate” to direct municipal tenders to ANC-favoured businesses.
Court of first instance
Sitting as the court of first instance, judge S.D.J. Wilson acknowledged the defamatory nature of the statements, but dismissed Mkhwane’s action on 15 July 2024. The trial judge upheld Dyakala’s defences of truth and public benefit regarding corruption. Wilson also applied the defence of fair comment regarding the “bully” and “looter” labels.
Mkhwane subsequently obtained leave to appeal to the Full Court from the Supreme Court of Appeal. The appeal turned on whether Dyakala had established the substantial truth of personal corruption and whether fair comment was legally available.
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In a judgment delivered on 17 September 2026, judges N.P. Mali and acting judge M. Van Nieuwenhuizen (with judge L. Adams concurring) emphasised that institutional procurement irregularities and irregular expenditure do not, without concrete proof, establish personal corruption or dishonesty on the part of an official. The court highlighted that no specific corrupt transaction involving Mkhwane was ever identified. Furthermore, the court held that the defence of fair comment had never been pleaded by Dyakala, and introducing it post-trial created severe procedural prejudice for Mkhwane. The court also found that no factual foundation existed to justify calling Mkhwane a “renowned bully” or a “looter”.
Apology, as well as payment
Highlighting that the CFO’s false accusations were made before Mkhwane’s direct colleagues and subordinates, the Full Court ordered Dyakala to pay R100 000 in general damages with 11,75% interest per annum backdated to July 2024. Dyakala was also ordered to publish an unconditional written retraction and apology on the SCM Management WhatsApp group within ten days, remove all accessible defamatory messages under his control, and pay appeal costs on Scale B.
