EFF ordered to apologise to Trevor Manuel and pay up
Former Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel, has won a case of defamation against the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
Manuel took legal action against the party after it had said in a statement that the appointment of South African Revenue Service commissioner Edward Kieswetter was based on nepotism.
In the statement released in March, the EFF said that Kieswetter and Manuel were family and that the two have a close business relationship.
It came a month after Manuel headed the panel tasked with interviewing potential candidates for the post of Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
Kieswetter emerged as the top candidate and was appointed.
On Thursday morning, the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg found that the EFF statement was unlawful and defamatory.
The EFF has been given 24 hours to retract the statement from all their media platforms and replace it with an apology.
Manuel is also entitled to damages of R500 000.
Trevor Andrew Manuel vs EFF & Two Others - Defamation Interdict Judgment - Matojane, J - 2019-05-29.PDF by Thabo on Scribd