17 hours ago
Gigaba stops ex-wife Noma and Showmax from airing sordid details of their marriage on Untied episode
Malusi Gigaba and his ex-wife Noma Mngoma in happier times. File picture: Dumisani Sibeko
Image: File /Dumisani Sibeko
Former Minister Malusi Gigaba has successfully obtained a temporary court order to stop the airing of an interview featuring his ex-wife, Noma Mngoma, on the Showmax series "Untied."
The interview, which delves into the turbulent aspects of their marriage, including allegations of infidelity, pornography addiction, and misuse of public funds, has raised significant public interest and concern.
In the application, MultiChoice is cited as the first respondent, while Goat Originals, which produced the show, is the second respondent, and Mngoma is the third.
Gigaba's legal action comes after he received a WhatsApp communication from Vanessa Tloubatla, the executive producer of the show, who wanted to give a right to reply to allegations that were made against him.
"Vanessa indicated that the third respondent (Mngoma) shared her experience of our former marriage particularly; her own perspective about our marriage; allegations of infidelity, pornography, the incident involving the hawks and further allegations about the use of taxpayer's money for personal trips," read the court documents.
Gigaba said upon receiving the email, he sought legal advice to evaluate the potential impact of these allegations on his public standing as he was in the process of rebuilding his name which was already tainted by past allegations.
Gigaba said that through his attorneys, he requested a copy of the podcast, and he was provided with a summarised version of the interview.
He said the interview contained allegations of personal nature with respect to his private life and there were further allegations regarding his professional life as a former minister.
'In light of the aforesaid, the second respondent (Goat Originals) makes the following unfounded allegations with respect to my private life: That I was engaged in multiple extramarital affairs during the subsistence of our marriage; I was addicted to pornography; and further that I was involved in her arrest,' he said.
Gigaba said after his attorneys exchanged emails with the production company, he was subsequently provided snippets of the interview for the purpose of watching.
Gigaba said that after watching the snippets, he advised his legal team of his desire to interdict the broadcasting of the interview on the basis that its sole import and effect was to taint his good name, and it was not in the public interest.
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Gigaba provided a short conversation which Mngoma had with the host.
The Host: The extravagant lifestyle was rumoured to be taxpayer's money.
The Host: Did any of the girls bring photographs to show that he cheated?
Mngoma: None of them brought photos, in a form of an image, but they screenshot messages and send them to me.
The Host: If you go to counselling, he will say I have got a problem, what was he saying his problem is?
Mngoma: He would blame his father, because his father was a priest, he grew up looking up to his father and his father cheated on his mother.
The Host: So, he inherited this from his father?
Mngoma: He would say I am going to deal with it and doesn't know why he's doing it.
Gigaba said there was no evidence of any extravagant lifestyle, he lived according to his position as a Minister.
"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 she claimed all of them as part of the divorce settlement."
The statements infringe his dignity and good name.
"The third respondent made statements that infringe my dignity and a good name."
As Gigaba navigates these accusations, he insists that since he resigned as minister, he has lived a private life and is in the process of rebuilding his name.
Furthermore, he condemned Mngoma's public disclosures about their family life and professional life, claiming it infringes upon his dignity and reputation.
"I have never gone around in public platforms, on social media or electronic printing seeking attention to talk about the third respondent (Mngoma) or diminish her good name. Instead, she is the one dragging my name unprovoked."
The airing of the controversial episode has been temporarily blocked, with the case set to return to court on 7 July for further consideration as more documents are to be submitted.
Gigaba served in government in 2010 and 2018, with stints as Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Public Enterprises, and Minister of Finance.
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