A war of words between controversial diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg and well known private investigator Mike Bolhuis, has turned into a legal battle.
Liebenberg this week turning to court for an “extremely urgent” order that Bolhuis immediately remove “defamatory” postings made on social media regarding himself (Liebenberg) and his wife Dezi.
The diamond miningLiebenberg this week turning to court for an “extremely urgent” order that Bolhuis immediately remove “defamatory” postings made on social media regarding himself (Liebenberg) and his wife Dezi. mogul said the host of postings, made on May 28 on Bolhuis’ Facebook page, are derogatory and depict himself and his wife in an extremely negative light.
The postings are done on the eve of the elections, in which Liebenberg stood as an independent candidate.
Bolhuis had in the past done work for Liebenberg, but their relationship had since soured.
In an affidavit before the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, Liebenberg said he accepted that he is a public figure and the subject of critique, but the “crude insults” levelled by Bolhuis on social media were defamatory.
The social media postings and subsequent war of words were sparked by the theft of an estimated R50 million worth of diamonds, gold and jewellery, allegedly by among others Liebenberg's trusted bodyguard, Hein Jooste.
Liebenberg stated in his affidavit that on May 5 he became aware that gold and jewellery worth millions were stolen from a company, Nama Stones, of which his wife is a director.
He suspected that Jooste was involved and Bolhuis agreed to assist him in locating Jooste.
Things between Liebenberg and Bolhuis went sour following the posting, in which Bolhuis said the alleged theft of the diamonds, gold and jewellery was a misrepresentation by Liebenberg.
He also posted that Liebenberg was still selling diamonds which did not exist and promising payments which never materialised.
Bolhuis further accused Liebenberg of not being forthcoming about what happened during what he termed the alleged theft, and claimed that the Liebenbergs had committed fraud.
The posting received many comments and were shared numerous times. Liebenberg’s attorneys asked Bolhuis to remove it, but he had refused.
This sparked the urgent application, in which Liebenberg said he and his wife were made out to be liars, fraudsters and “dishonest, greedy businesspeople”.
He said these statements were extremely damaging and Bolhuis must be ordered to immediately take the posts down.
Bolhuis, on the other hand, said what he wrote was the truth and in the public interest. He said the “true” reason for Liebenberg’s application was to silence the Specialised Security Services, headed by himself (Bolhuis) so as to deprive the public to the true facts surrounding the theft.
He said investigations revealed that the theft allegations were “fabricated”. Bolhuis said everything he had posted on social media on May 28 was 100% factually correct, and he had a duty to provide the public with the true facts.
Bolhuis’ legal team, headed by advocate Francois Botes, meanwhile also argued several technical points, which included that Liebenberg’s application was not urgent.
Judge Linda Retief agreed with this and removed the matter from the roll.
It is understood that the Liebenbergs will now place the matter on the normal court roll.