Raphael Wolf
SE’SKONA People’s Rights Movement leader and former ANC councillor Andile Lili said he would not apologise to the ANC and the party’s provincial secretary Songenzo Mjongile for accusing him of being behind a recent assassination attempt on his life.
Lili and his organisation called a press briefing in Khayelitsha yesterday where he dismissed Mjongile and an ANC warning to take legal action against him if he did not apologise or retract his statement.
“We are making no apology as to say he is behind my assassination attempt,” Lili said. He had received a lawyer’s letter from the ANC asking him to apologise and retract his “defamatory” statement, or face criminal and civil action.
Asked which structure within the ANC had wanted him to apologise, Lili said: “We believe Songenzo is behind this attempt (on my life). We are going to interrogate him on where he was when I was an attempted assassination (victim). Tomorrow they will get a response from my lawyer.”
Having been wounded in a shooting by unidentified gunmen on November 5, Lili looked completely healed from his ordeal and was in high spirits at the press briefing. Mjongile said the matter was in the hands of their lawyers.
“In essence, we point out the statements he and his organisation have made against the ANC and its leaders, and demand he must retract these statements and apologise publicly.
“Failing which, we will proceed with legal action against him. It’s not a small matter (for Lili) to wake up and just make such defamatory allegations against the ANC’s leadership,” Mjongile shot back.