Simamkele Xani’s bid to appeal a defamation ruling against Unisa has been dismissed. Image: Pixabay
Pretoria High Court
1Min
South Africa
The Pretoria High Court has dismissed Simamkele Xani’s application for leave to appeal, reinforcing a previous ruling that found him in contempt and guilty of defaming Unisa and its leadership.
The Pretoria High Court has dismissed the application for leave to appeal filed by Simamkele Xani, who was found to have defamed the University of South Africa (Unisa) and its leadership.
Commenting for the first time on the court ruling, Unisa said it “welcomed the decision”.
In 2024, Xani made defamatory statements against Unisa and its vice chancellor, Puleng LenkaBula.
The university sought protection from the court and obtained a final order in November 2024 prohibiting Xani from making further defamatory statements against the institution and its officials.
Xani ignored the order and continued making defamatory statements against Unisa and its officials until the court found him in contempt of a court order.
The court further ordered Xani to retract all defamatory publications and to issue an apology to the Principal and Vice-Chancellor and the university.
Instead, Xani opted to file an application for leave to appeal the judgment. His appeal was heard on 3 March 2026.
The court dismissed Xani’s application with costs, thereby confirming that the order of November 2024 remains valid and that he was indeed in contempt of court.
In a statement on Friday, Unisa said it filed an application in the high court against Xani.
The court confirmed the validity of the earlier order and again interdicted Xani from continuing to attack or make defamatory statements against the university, its management, the University Council, and the Principal and Vice-Chancellor.
“It is noteworthy that all applications brought by the university against Xani have been successful,” Unisa stated.
“Conversely, all the applications that he has brought against the university have been dismissed by the court.
“It is also regrettable that, despite the court’s clear directives, Xani failed to comply with the order to retract his defamatory statements and to apologise to the Principal and Vice-Chancellor and the university.
“Despite the university’s legal representatives formally writing to him to remind him of the court order and calling on him to comply, this has not happened.”
The university said Xani has still not complied with the court order, even after his leave to appeal was dismissed by the court.
The university said it is considering further legal steps to enforce the court order. If found guilty, Xani faces a possible prison term of six months or a fine of R50 000.
