Gigaba vs Mngoma | Court battle halts Showmax’s ‘tell-all’ episode

A bitter legal showdown between former finance minister, Malusi Gigaba, and his ex-wife, Norma Mngoma, has temporarily blocked the release of a highly anticipated ‘tell-all’ episode on Showmax.

Gigaba has approached the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to stop the airing of an episode from the streaming platform’s new show Untied, which features an explosive interview with Mngoma.

The former minister argues that the interview contains new and potentially damaging allegations that could severely tarnish his reputation.

According to court papers filed on Monday and Tuesday, Gigaba claims the show’s producers — Goats Original — and MultiChoice are “violating his dignity” and exploiting his personal life for commercial gain.

He is demanding the episode not be aired.

The contentious Untied episode reportedly delves into Mngoma’s claims of infidelity, pornography addiction, and abuse of state resources during their four-year marriage — accusations Gigaba strongly denies.

Gigaba says he has been working to restore his public image since resigning from Cabinet in 2018 amid mounting scandals and testimony at the Zondo Commission, which was probing allegations of state capture.

“There is no evidence of any extravagant lifestyle I lived owing to my position as Minister. Nowhere has this been tested or proven. At the Zondo Commission, she made a sworn claim that I was broke and she was the one responsible for purchasing all our household assets, as a result of which she claimed all of them as part of the divorce settlement,” reads his affidavit.

He further states that since leaving public office, he has led a private life – focusing on rebuilding his “dignity and good name.”

“I have never gone around in public platforms, on social medias or electronic printing, seeking attention to talk about Third Respondent (Mngoma) or to diminish her good name. Instead she is the one dragging my name, unprovoked,” he continues.

Now serving as co-chair of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, Gigaba is suing his ex-wife, MultiChoice, and Goats Original, arguing that the production failed to verify the claims made in the interview — some of which, he alleges, are being made public for the first time.

However, MultiChoice contends that the content in question has been widely reported in both local and international media since at least 2015, and insists it is not new or defamatory.

The ANC NEC member has asked not to be subjected to further indignity and harm to his integrity and dignity before this matter is properly heard.

“I am advised that timeframes should be expedited to ensure a swift hearing, while still allowing respondents a fair opportunity to reply without undermining my chances of substantial relief,” he says.

The court has since postponed the matter to Tuesday.

MultiChoice has, in the mean time, agreed to delay the broadcast of the episode until the 15th of this month. Written by Lebohang Ndashe