Embattled Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille has responded to charges brought against her by the Democratic Alliance by accusing the party of an abuse of process.
De Lille said she was not given sufficient time by the party to respond to the allegation that she had solicited a bribe before laying charges and had done so deliberately to destroy her political career.
"I have now been informed by the SAPS that a criminal complaint has been laid against me by the federal leadership of the Democratic Alliance pertaining to an alleged solicitation of a bribe from a Mr Anthony Faul in January 2013," she said in a statement on Wednesday.
De Lille added that the DA had embarked on a "campaign of distributing the message to all and sundry that I am corrupt".
She went on to say the timing seemed aimed at discrediting her before she faces a motion of no confidence in the city council next Thursday.
"My lawyers tell me that it is an abuse of the criminal justice system to lay a complaint against someone for an ulterior purpose, in the present instance my political demise."
De Lille said she rejected the statement by James Selfe, the chairman of the DA's federal executive, that the party was obliged to report the matter to the police.
Regarding the allegation, De Lille said it appeared that Faul had taken the City "for a ride" and was never serious about a proposal to supply fire equipment to the city.
She said it was suspect that when the project fell apart in 2013, he never complained about allegedly being asked to pay a bribe but did so years later.