Former justice ministry executive director Gladice Pickering has threatened to take legal action against social media user Nghipudilo ya Shiindi over a post alleging misuse of public funds to benefit her husband’s company, Ulrich Pickering Interior Projects CC.
The legal dispute follows Shiindi’s Facebook post repeating claims first raised in an anonymous letter sent in February.
The letter raises concerns about renovations at the Sanlam Centre, which houses several justice ministry offices.
It further alleges that Pickering initiated renovations on floors one, two, three, eight, 10 and 11, funded by unspent ministry allocations, and claims that her husband, Ulrich Pickering’s, company received contracts to renovate the building. “Major renovations in this regard were done by Ulrich Pickering Interior Projects CC, a company owned by the husband of the executive director of justice, Ulrich Pickering,” reads the letter.
On 12 November, lawyer Sisa Namandje, representing Pickering, sent a letter to Shiindi, who had publicly shared posts on Facebook repeating similar allegations.
The letter claims that Shiindi’s posts damaged Pickering’s reputation and dignity.
“With malicious intent to damage our client’s good reputation and violate her dignity, [you] published defamatory comments on your Facebook account, which were widely circulated on various social media platforms,” says Namandje.
The firm warns that failure to comply with the demands of the letter would result in High Court action.
Shiindi responded on 13 November, denying any malice and insisting her posts addressed matters of public concern.
In her letter, she requests that official documentation confirming the Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation and clearance of Pickering be publicly released to ensure transparency.
She states her posts were framed as questions about the handling of public funds and accountability within the Ministry of Justice and Labour Relations.
“The post did not assert corruption as fact; it posed legitimate questions such as: a) How did Sanlam know that the Ministry of Justice and Labour Relations suddenly had money for renovations that were never budgeted for?, b) Who approved the reallocation of those public funds?, c) Why was the case closed without further clarity?” she writes. Later on the same day, Namandje sent another letter stating that Shiindi had refused to retract or apologise and warning that High Court summons would be issued by 21 November, seeking punitive costs.
The letter adds that the idea of “untrammelled rights” to harm others’ reputation was “downright wrong”.
The allegations centre on renovations carried out in 2024, which were reportedly not budgeted for under the ministry’s capital project budget but were funded from unspent ministry allocations earmarked to be returned to the treasury at the end of the financial year.
The renovations involved several contractors, including Ulrich Pickering Interior Projects CC, owned by Pickering’s husband.
The Anti-Corruption Commission has clarified its position on the matter.
“We are not investigating Gladice Pickering; there was no substance to the allegations,” commissioner Paulus Noa says.
Approached for comment, Shiindi refers to her letter to Pickering’s lawyers as her official response.
Efforts to reach Pickering for comment were unsuccessful by the time of going to print.
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