The Pretoria High Court has delivered a scathing critique of the late Deputy President David Dabede “DD” Mabuza, condemning him even after death for his purported involvement in a corrupt and ruthless campaign aimed at dismantling a landmark conservation initiative and ejecting its founder from the region.

In a comprehensive 181-page judgment handed down on September 25, Judge Neil Tuchten laid bare a complex web of political misconduct. He awarded R306 million in damages to Grand Valley Estates, the principal entity behind the ambitious “Nkomazi Wilderness” project. The ruling cast a harsh spotlight on Mabuza’s alleged abuse of power, which the court described as an orchestrated effort to persecute Fred Daniel, a legitimate businessman and key architect of the project, who refused to partake in a large-scale land claims fraud.

The legal battle dates back over a decade, to 2010, when evidence emerged of a secretive “collusive agreement” involving the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), the Regional Land Claims Commission (RLCC), and Mabuza, who served as Mpumalanga’s Premier and MEC for Agriculture before ascending to national politics.

Central to the case was Daniel’s achievement of consolidating 30,000 hectares of land, backed by R380 million invested by Kerzner International and the support of the Development Bank of Southern Africa. His vision was to develop a premier eco-tourism reserve, but the court found that his efforts were deliberately undermined after he exposed and refused to participate in a land-brokering scheme led by Pieter Visagé. According to court findings, Mabuza called Daniel and pressured him to admit land claims over the project area and to sell these claims to the Ndwandwe Trust, a move the judge characterised as coercive.

When Daniel refused, Mabuza allegedly leveraged his political influence to incite violence, instruct police to stay absent during protests, and create an environment of lawlessness to intimidate the project’s founder.

Evidence revealed that about 150 protesters, bused in from Middelburg, descended on the site in August 2008, setting tyres alight and damaging fences, while police were ordered to refrain from intervening. Mabuza later addressed the crowd, reportedly promising them land—a move the court interpreted as fomenting unrest rather than protecting property rights.

A pivotal piece of evidence was a 13-minute phone call in late August 2008, during which Mabuza told Daniel that protection could only be guaranteed if he “admitted the land claims over the Project lands and sold them to the Ndwandwe Trust.” Judge Tuchten condemned this as a form of extortion, stating that Mabuza’s language suggested he was withholding police protection unless Daniel complied with his demands.

Further allegations described political interference within provincial offices, where officials, overheard by witnesses, planned to use land claims as justification to deny Daniel’s permits needed to operate his reserve. Evidence also pointed to violent sabotage, including a controversial raid in June 2008, where officials seized and ultimately shot a leopard and other animals from Daniel’s sanctuary—an operation the court found to be unjustified and timed to coincide with legal proceedings against him.

Judge Tuchten emphasised that the raid was a demonstration of how officials had moved beyond their lawful roles, becoming perpetrators of intimidation and cruelty designed to crush Daniel’s aspirations.

In his final order, the judge dismissed technical legal objections raised by the defendants, asserting that justice could only be served through the claim for damages. The R306 million awarded consisted of R38 million for the undervalued land sale and R268 million for projected future profits lost. The court also imposed a punitive costs order, holding the involved agencies jointly responsible for Daniel’s legal expenses, including the entire history of the case.

This ruling reveals a disturbing picture of political abuse and state-sponsored intimidation, with the court asserting that even after Mabuza’s passing, his actions remain a matter of grave concern.