Julius Malema’s R1-million defamation case against Kenny Kunene was struck from the roll in the Gauteng High Court on Tuesday due to his legal team’s failure to meet filing deadlines.
The matter was set for hearing on 9 June but Judge Leonard Twala removed it after Malema’s lawyers uploaded required documents to the CaseLines system only the night before, missing an April deadline. Advocate Mfesane ka-Siboto sought leniency, describing the lapse as an administrative error rather than deliberate defiance. The judge ordered Malema to cover Kunene’s legal costs. The case stems from statements Kunene made on 20 February during a Podcast and Chill interview. Kunene alleged Malema made repeated late-night visits to the farm of the late taxi boss Jothan “Mswazi” Msibi and received R80,000 in cash from a Louis Vuitton bag. Malema has denied any criminal links, stating the visits concerned transport arrangements for EFF events. Kunene welcomed the ruling as a win for freedom of expression. Malema’s team said it will seek to re-enrol the matter. The pair remain involved in separate litigation after the Equality Court found in August 2025 that Kunene’s references to Malema as a “cockroach” amounted to hate speech.
