Swift prosecution of so-called celebrity blogger reveals NPA’s double standards

Three months after making alleged defamatory remarks about businessman Ze Khumalo, the so-called celebrity blogger Musa Khawula was arrested and charged with crimen injuria for “impairing, injuring, or damaging the dignity” of the businessman. Yet, 18 months after three youngsters filed similar criminal charges against TikTok user Njabulo Madlanga, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has not even decided whether to prosecute her.

AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit represents Reece Lopes, Milan Kruijer and Jude Fraser-Grant and intends to privately prosecute Madlanga if the state declines to do so. The unit has written to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Adv. Andrew Chauke, to express concern about what appears to be a double standard and to request that he intervene to ensure that a decision is made on whether to prosecute.

Adv. Chauke has responded within a day of receiving the letter, indicating that a senior advocate has been assigned to attend to the matter and respond accordingly. The unit had previously written to Adv. Chauke in June and November 2024. While the DPP responded promptly and positively to the correspondence by instructing the prosecutor in charge of the case to come to a decision, this has not happened.

In August 2023, the trio filed a case of crimen injuria against Madlanga for allegedly making false and damaging racist allegations against them in a series of TikTok posts. One of the posts has been viewed over two million times. In October 2023, the Private Prosecution Unit successfully applied for a protection order against Madlanga, prohibiting her from further harassing or enlisting the help of others to harass the complainants. The unit has previously stated publicly that false claims of racism should be dealt with as seriously as bona fide allegations of such discrimination.

Adv. Gerrie Nel, Head of AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, has alerted Adv. Chauke to the inference that the failure to decide to prosecute is not delayed because of the complexity of the case, but because of undisclosed non-prosecutorial reasons. “The NPA’s media statement on 14 January 2025 concerning the arrest and prosecution of the so-called ‘social media personality’, Musa Khawula, has convinced the unit that our clients’ case is being thwarted by considerations unrelated to the facts of the case.

“According to the NPA’s statement, Khawula is accused of posting ‘derogatory statements between 10 and 12 October 2024 on his social media platform, which has a substantial following, with the alleged intention of impairing, injuring or damaging the dignity of businessman Ze Nxumalo’. The facts of the cases are strikingly similar, yet 18 months after our clients filed their criminal complaint and obtained a protection order against the suspect, inexplicably the prosecutor has seemingly not even made the decision to prosecute.

“Must we accept that only prominent people, with celebrity-like statuses are deserving of justice when their dignity and good name is besmirched by social media personalities? It re-enforces the public’s perception of a two-tier justice system and erodes the public’s confidence in an NPA that is supposed to act without fear, favour or prejudice,” concludes Nel.

The unit is hopeful that Adv. Chauke will ensure the matter is treated with the same urgency and attention he has previously given it, and that a decision to prosecute will be made soon.