Deputy President David Mabuza has taken a stance to clear his name by opening a defamation case against people who accuse him of being behind the political killings in Mpumalanga.

Sowetan has been reliably informed that Mabuza, 57, personally went to Embalenhle police station in Secunda, Mpumalanga, on Saturday to open a case against Bishop Hangwi Maumela and several other people over allegations they have been making against him over the years.

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi confirmed the news.

Asked if Maumela was one of the suspects following allegations he made at a public gathering in Embalenhle last month, Hlathi said he could not be drawn into that discussion.

"I cannot name the suspects until such time that the docket is with the public prosecutions. Nobody has been arrested yet but the suspects will be determined by the investigation," he told Sowetan yesterday.

Addressing members of the ANC in Mpumalanga two weeks ago at an event hosted by ANC deputy chairman in the province, Charles Makola, Maumela alleged through a video recording that Mabuza was a murderer and that newly appointed premier, Refilwe Mtshweni, was his girlfriend.

Yesterday, Maumela stuck to his guns about the claims: "This man is part of political gangsterism in the ANC. The bottom line is that political gangsterism in the ANC
[exists] and one of the culprits of political gangsterism is DD (David Dabede) Mabuza."

Maumela, who campaigned for the election of President Cyril Ramaphosa in December, claimed that since making the public pronouncements on Mabuza, he has been getting calls warning him not to set foot in Mpumalanga because he would regret it.

During his premiership of Mpumalanga, Mabuza was alleged to have been behind the killing of Mbombela speaker Jimmy Mohlala in 2009, who blew the whistle on corruption linked to the building of a 2010 World Cup stadium.

Mabuza's spokesperson Thamsanqa Ngwenya could not be reached for comment.