- Andile Philip Dyakala falsely accused former supply chain manager Jason Mkhwane of corruption in a workplace WhatsApp group.
- The Full Court ruled that procurement problems did not mean Mkhwane was personally corrupt.
- Dyakala was ordered to pay R100 000, publish an unconditional apology, and remove the defamatory messages.
A bitter workplace dispute at Emfuleni Local Municipality has ended with former Chief Financial Officer Andile Philip Dyakala being ordered to pay R100 000 for falsely accusing former Supply Chain Management manager Jason Mkhwane of corruption in a WhatsApp group used by senior municipal officials.
The High Court in Johannesburg ruled that the messages claiming Mkhwane had “normalised corruption,” calling him a “renowned bully” and linking him to looting, were defamatory and not supported by the evidence.
Judge NP Mali delivered the unanimous judgment, with Judge L R Adams and Acting Judge M van Nieuwenhuizen agreeing.
Corruption allegations shared with senior officials
The dispute began in December 2019 when Dyakala posted a series of messages on the SCM Management WhatsApp group, a closed work forum with about ten managers and senior employees in Emfuleni’s supply chain division.
Mkhwane sued for defamation, arguing that the messages painted him as personally corrupt and ruined his professional name. Dyakala admitted sending the messages but claimed they were justified because of the municipality’s history of procurement irregularities and financial mismanagement.
The trial court agreed the messages were defamatory but dismissed Mkhwane’s claim after accepting Dyakala’s defences of truth and fair comment.
Full Court separates maladministration from corruption
On appeal, the judges said the real issue was not if Emfuleni had procurement failures, but whether Mkhwane himself was corrupt.
The court said: “Irregular expenditure demonstrates non-compliance with applicable procurement or financial requirements. It does not, without more, establish dishonesty, bribery or corrupt intent.”
Dyakala relied on claims that Mkhwane had spoken about a political “mandate” on municipal procurement. The Full Court accepted the conversation may have happened, but said this did not prove the much more serious claim that Mkhwane was personally corrupt.
The judges found no evidence of a corrupt tender, no service provider who benefitted through Mkhwane, and no documents proving his participation in corruption.
Bully and looter claims also failed
The Full Court also rejected the idea that calling Mkhwane a “renowned bully” and a “looter” was protected fair comment.
The judges said fair comment was never properly pleaded at trial and was raised only after all the evidence had been heard, depriving Mkhwane of a fair chance to respond.
On the bullying allegation, the court said, “The adjective ‘renowned’ also added a particular sting. It suggested that bullying was an established or generally recognised characteristic of the plaintiff rather than merely the defendant’s personal assessment of him.”
There was also no factual basis for saying Mkhwane had looted public funds or helped others do so.
Reputation mattered more than audience size
Even though the WhatsApp messages reached only about ten people, the Full Court said their professional impact was significant because the recipients were Mkhwane’s colleagues, supervisors and subordinates.
The judges noted that corruption allegations carry unusual weight when made by a municipality’s CFO against the official responsible for supply chain management.
Mkhwane testified that he had lived under a “dark cloud” since the messages were sent and had pursued the case mainly to clear his professional name.
Court orders damages, apology and removal
The Full Court overturned the earlier ruling and declared Dyakala’s WhatsApp messages defamatory and unlawful.
Dyakala was ordered to pay R100 000 in general damages, issue an unconditional written retraction and apology on the SCM Management WhatsApp group within 10 days, remove any remaining defamatory messages under his control, and pay the legal costs for both the trial and the appeal.
Get your news on the go. Click here to follow the Conviction WhatsApp channel.
