By Thys Khiba
Johannesburg – The national spokesperson and a member of the National Executive Committee of Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA), Carl Gerhardus Niehaus is suing the minister of transport, Fikile Mbalula for R8M million for calling him a thug and corrupt on Twitter in October 2020.
“It’s now in the hands of the minister. He will have to respond to the summons and decide whether he wants to file an answering affidavit. Obviously, these are matters that have to be fitted into the court roll. So, it’s difficult for me to say exactly on what date this matter will come to finality,” said Carl Gerhardus Niehaus.
This is after Mbalula (through Twitter) labelled Niehaus and MKMVA President Kenny Maphatsoe as suspected criminals. The defendant, Niehaus has also indicated that Mbalula said “Carl Niehaus is a well-known thug employed by Magashule at Luthuli House.”
In addition, he also tweeted “Those thugs calling themselves MK.”
The tweets by Mbalula came after a protest by the association led by Kenny Maphatsoe, to the ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters for Mbalula’s arrest linking him to the damage done to South Africa’s rail infrastructure, among issues.
According to Niehaus, the court sheriff was supposed to deliver the summons to Mbalula on 13 January 2021.
“My attorneys were informed that it was particularly difficult for the sheriff of the court to deliver the summons, that the minister was most of the time not in his office and that his secretary and staff were often also not there. The summons has been in the hands of the sheriff of the court for a considerable period of time before he managed to deliver it,” said Niehaus.
Meanwhile, Niehaus confirms that he is suing Mbalula because he could not get away with insulting people with impunity.
Free State Central News tried to get a comment from the spokesperson for the transport minister, but Ayanda-Allie Paine and that was unsuccessful attempts.
FREE STATE CENTRAL NEWS