Asked by ESTHER on 11-03-2025 13:01:18
Question posted in the Criminal Law category relating to Gauteng

Hi,

I have been accused of taking all my mothers stuff and using her money for myself. She is in the old age home, we bought her house over from her. Nothing was ever taken from her without her permission or her giving this to us.

I have this accusations on messages, voice note and a third party has told us that this has been said about us with them.

Can we sue for defemation?

Thanks,

Posted by Att. Patrick on 11-03-2025 13:28:25

Hi there and thank you for your question,

I am a practicing attorney based in South Africa and I will assist you with your question. Please feel free to ask as many follow up questions in order to clarify your question. If you have a new question, you must please open a new thread.

Please keep in mind that our discussions is for general information purposes only. Our engagement on this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. 

Yes, if the accusations have been made about you to a third party, then you can sue for defamation. 

These requirements are as follows:- The statement must have been wrongful; The statement must have been intentional; The statement must have been published; and The statement must have been defamatory.

A statement will be regarded as defamatory if, “in the opinion of the reasonable person, the words have the tendency to undermine, subvert, or impair a person’s good name, reputation, or esteem in the community.”

Posted by Att. Patrick on 11-03-2025 13:32:21

The entire case will really come down to what was said to the third party, and whether or not the accusations are actually defamatory in nature, or whether they amount to something like 'fair comment'. 

If this other person said to a third party "I think that my brother has stolen my Mom's stuff", that is very different to "My thief of a brother stole my Mom's stuff." So it is all going to come down to exactly what was said, and what evidence you have.

Also, to what degree you can prove that the defamatory statements actually caused you to suffer harm to your reputation, etc. 

e.g. if you are a movie star your reputation might suffer a lot more compared to if you were a street sweeper. If you understand the distinction?

Okay, if we cannot go defamatory, can we serve the person with a cease and desist to stop harrasing us, after we told this person numerous times to leave us alone.

Posted by Att. Patrick on 12-03-2025 10:12:25

Yes, you can definitely go that route. Then, if they do not comply with the letter, you can apply at the local magistrates court for a protection from harassment order. That will stop them from being able to continue harassing you. If they do; they go to jail!