Share

Former DA councillors threaten to sue Maimane for R1m each

Five former DA leaders in the City of Cape Town have served party leader Mmusi Maimane with a summons, each claiming R1m from him for defamation, one of them said in a statement on Thursday.

The action relates to comments Maimane made to the media and those published in his newsletter, Bokamoso.

The five former councillors, Suzette Little, Shaun August, Siyabulela Mamkeli, Gregchan Barnardo and Thulani Stemele, resigned from the council in October.

In the piece published in the newsletter, titled "Cape Town city council: We cannot sacrifice accountability on the altar of false racial victimhood", Maimane said the DA "sought accountability" in the City of Cape Town.

"Playing the race card is also a convenient way to escape accountability," he wrote.

He said reports compiled by law firm Bowmans (Formerly Bowman Gilfillan) into allegations of maladministration in the City "made adverse findings against some councillors".

But the councillors took issue with Maimane's comments and their attorneys demanded that he retract the statements unconditionally and apologise.

"This was based on the fact that none of our names were in the report nor were we implicated in the investigation," Little said in the statement.

Maimane re-released the newsletter, but added a disclaimer which read: "Friday's Bokamoso contained a factual inaccuracy regarding the role of the five former DA councillors in Cape Town, an error for which we apologise."

READ: Maimane has not apologised 'for lying about us' – former DA City of Cape Town chief whip

The offending parts of the newsletter were amended.

SABC News later reported that Maimane's spokesperson Graham Charters said he had retracted the statement.

However, the councillors said the retraction was not good enough and threatened to take legal action unless they received a formal retraction and apology.

"Maimane issued a replacement Bokamoso newsletter, but did not retract his comments. In fact, his replacement Bokamoso newsletter continued to accuse us of being party to some sort of cover up," Little said in Thursday's statement.

"Maimane damaged our reputations gratuitously and widely and he was not man enough to correct his own conduct," she said.

Little added: "Now that we have used our rights to protect our names by instituting this summons, we trust that Maimane understands the serious nature of the reputational damage he has caused."

Charters told News24 that Maimane's lawyers would respond to the councillors' summons in "due course".

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 558 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 801 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.87
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.85
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.38
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE