Rampedi won’t apologise over ‘molester’ comments, Pauw’s lawyer drafting papers

Lawyers representing journalist Piet Rampedi say their client has not apologised or retracted statements he made about fellow journalist Jacques Pauw on social media.

“We made no apology or retraction. Twenty-four hours have long passed and still no court action by Mr Pauw,” attorney Eric Mabuza told News24 on Monday.

This comes after Pauw gave Rampedi 24 hours to retract and apologise for statements in which he called Pauw a “molester”.

Pauw’s lawyer, Willem de Klerk, demanded in February that Rampedi immediately remove the offending “false and defamatory” statements from all platforms where it was originally published, as well as publish an unconditional retraction and apology within 24 hours, as reported by News24.

It all began when Daily Maverick published an article by Pauw titled “Malema and Rampedi spin outlandish new ‘rogue unit’ narrative” on 18 February 2020.

Rampedi quickly responded by calling Pauw a “liar” and “molester” via his social media pages. He also alleged that Pauw lied in his 2017 book that the Guptas had bankrolled Rampedi’s newspaper.

Pauw did not respond to News24’s numerous attempts for comment.

De Klerk told News24 on Tuesday: “I cannot comment any further than to say we’re in the process of drafting papers.”

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