Cape Town - ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu has initiated court proceedings against the SABC’s Hlaudi Motsoeneng over comments Motsoeneng made during a recent New Age breakfast.
Mthembu’s spokesman Moloto Mothapo said on Thursday that the chief whip wants the court to order Motsoeneng to pay R1 million and issue a public apology.
The court action relates to an event held on October 27, where Motsoeneng - SABC’s group executive of corporate affairs - allegedly warned the politician to “desist from making a lot of noise” about the public broadcaster, claiming that Mthembu’s interest was driven by ulterior motives. Motsoeneng went on to claim that Mthembu had attempted to “capture” him.
Mthembu has called the allegations malicious and defamatory, and claims it is an attempt to threaten and blackmail the office of the Chief Whip “on a matter of principle with the hope that the inquiry into the SABC, which the ANC caucus has outspokenly pursued, would be abandoned”.
According to Mothapo, on November 2 Mthembu’s legal counsel sent a letter to Motsoeneng demanding an immediate public apology and a “retraction of his defamatory remarks”. The letter further demanded that Motsoeneng provide details of the meeting at which the alleged attempt at capture took place.
As Motsoeneng has not responded by the stipulated time, Nicqui Galaktiou Inc, legal counsel for Mthembu, has now lodged papers with the court, Mothapo said.
Mthembu said in his statement that he is asking the court to order Motsoeneng to:
* Pay a sum of R1 000 000;
* Issue unconditional public apology for the injury caused to the Chief Whip as a result of the defamatory statement, both in print and over a public broadcast, within seven days of the date of judgment; and
* Pay the legal costs
IOL