Emfuleni municipality CFO ordered to pay manager R100,000 after calling him a “renowned bully” and “looter”
The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, sitting on appeal, ordered a senior municipal official to pay R100,000 and apologise to a colleague over defamatory WhatsApp messages accusing him of corruption, bullying and looting.
Mpho Malema, the director of Mabula Forestry and Construction, has been granted R30,000 bail in an alleged R16 million fraud and corruption case involving Emfuleni Local Municipality. The charges against Malema include corruption, fraud, and theft, stemming from a scheme where he and his company allegedly received payment for vehicles that were never delivered by the municipality.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana revealed that the fraud allegedly took place between July 2015 and July 2023, with the municipality paying Malema and his company approximately R16 million for 18 vehicles, including UD trucks and bakkies. However, the vehicles were never delivered, and seven of them have since been recovered from other entities.
Mahanjana stated that the State opposed Malema's release on bail, but the magistrate deemed it in the interests of justice to grant him bail. Mpho Malema's co-accused, Emfuleni Local Municipality fleet manager Lerato Selaelo Mpholo, also faces charges related to the scheme. The matter was postponed to September 29, 2026, for further investigations.
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