Retract or else...Gwamanda's lawyers write to Phalatse over scam claims

Last week, Phalatse issued a statement in which she claimed information had emerged linking Gwamanda to the alleged “swindling and scamming” of members of the public through his company iThemba Lama Afrika.

The former mayor, who lost out on a third go at the mayoral chain by 71 votes, said her party will bring the allegations to the attention of the police for further investigation.

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But the mayor’s lawyers say Phalatse’s statement was “wholly unfounded”, untrue, defamatory, and amounted to rumour mongering.

“You made the Statement with no evidence or facts; rather, you published the Statement on the strength of so-called social media sources and “voice notes” on WhatsApp. In using your public office and platform, you have legitimatised the defamatory statements as if they are fact, which is not the case at all,” the letter reads.

Gwamanda’s lawyers want Phalatse to immediately delete the statement from all public platforms, issue a public retraction and apology, and refrain from publishing any further defamatory comments against him.

“…our client demands that you refrain from publishing any further defamatory statements, of any nature and on any public platform be it online or otherwise, about our client, including any publications relating to this correspondence.

“Should you fail to comply with the above by 09h00 on Friday, 12 May 2023, we hold instructions to institute proceedings against you.”

Jacaranda FM News has confirmed the authenticity of the letter. Attempts to reach Dr Phalatse were unsuccessful at the time of publication.

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