Court orders ex-Transnet employee to remove defamatory Facebook videos.
Image: File
The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban has ruled against a former Transnet employee who repeatedly posted defamatory videos about the company on social media.
The high court found that Musa Mbundwini had breached the conditions of a suspended 30-day prison sentence previously imposed for contempt of court. However, Judge Robin George Mossop stopped short of sending him to prison, instead re-suspending the sentence for five years under strict new conditions.
The dispute began when Mbundwini, a qualified welder, was dismissed by Transnet in February 2018 for dishonesty and fraud. His dismissal was twice upheld by arbitrators under the Transnet Bargaining Council after he challenged the decision.
Although he initially achieved a technical victory in the Labour Court due to a missing transcript, a rehearing in November 2022 confirmed that his dismissal was fair. He took no further legal steps after that ruling.
Instead, he turned to TikTok and Facebook, posting numerous videos accusing Transnet of fraud, corruption and unethical conduct.
Transnet first approached the High Court in August 2024, obtaining an interdict prohibiting Mbundwini from posting defamatory content about the company.
Further court orders followed in April and June 2025 after he allegedly failed to comply.
In August 2025, Acting Judge Bhagwandeen sentenced Mbundwini to 30 days’ imprisonment for contempt of court. The sentence was suspended for five years on condition that he remove all videos relating to Transnet within 24 hours and refrain from posting further defamatory material.
According to the latest judgment, he did neither.
The court was told that between August and October 2025, he posted at least 25 additional videos. A supplementary affidavit revealed that a further 37 videos were posted between December 2025 and February 2026.
In one video, he declared: “More videos are coming so the truth will be revealed.”
Recent proceedings in February 2026 descended into chaos when Mbundwini represented himself in court.
Judge Mossop described unprecedented scenes in which Mbundwini shouted, wept and made scandalous allegations against Transnet’s legal representatives and the court itself.
He repeatedly accused the lawyers of being criminals and demanded their arrest. He also alleged widespread fraud involving Transnet and even the judiciary.
Despite instructions from the judge to sit down and remain quiet, he continued speaking loudly, talking over the judge and anyone attempting to intervene. He apologised at times, promised to remain silent — and then immediately resumed shouting.
Security personnel were required to intervene.
The judge adjourned the matter and granted Mbundwini a final opportunity to delete all offending content by February 15.
Despite assurances in court that he had complied; further videos were still found on his Facebook and TikTok profiles when the matter resumed on February 17.
Judge Mossop declared him to be in breach of the suspended sentence conditions.
However, noting that most of the videos had by then been deleted and that imprisonment is a last resort, the judge exercised his discretion not to activate the 30-day jail term.
Instead, the sentence was re-suspended for the remainder of the original five-year period, subject to additional strict conditions.
Mbundwini was ordered to:
Immediately delete four specified Facebook videos;
Refrain from posting any content about Transnet that could damage its reputation;
Avoid breaching any further court orders in the matter.
Mbundwini’s TikTok account still contains videos in which he talks about Transnet, with the last video posted on June 25, 2025. The judge authorised Transnet’s attorneys to approach TikTok administrators to request the deletion of one of his profiles if he cannot access it himself.
Judge Mossop warned that any further breach would likely result in the suspended sentence being enforced.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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