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By Citizen Reporter

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Bathabile Dlamini rejects rumours of being ‘drunk’ while in office

The former minister says she does not drink alcohol and actually suffers from epilepsy.


The leader of the ANC Women’s League Bathabile Dlamini has rejected rumours of her being inebriated while in office, SowetanLive reports.

Dlamini on Tuesday resigned as a member of parliament (MP). She is the former minister of women in the Presidency and of social development.

In an exclusive interview with EWN, Dlamini said she had been concerned that the rumours were spreading like wildfire, adding that she did not consume alcohol but rather suffered from epilepsy.

She said more and more people kept questioning her about drinking alcohol, which resulted in her consulting a neurologist.

“I was taking Epilim, 200g in the morning and 200g in the afternoon and thereafter he had to prescribe Epitec for the evening only because as much as I was fighting saying I don’t drink and everyone was saying no you are drinking, I politicised the issue because we were dealing with the issues of alcohol and drug abuse but I also had to look into myself and do self-introspection,” Dlamini said.

Dlamini’s spokesperson, Lumka Oliphant, came to the former minister’s defence over the rumours, saying “don’t talk sh*t about Bathabile”.

Oliphant said at the time that if it were up to Dlamini, South Africa would not be drinking, and in fact, there would be no alcohol advertising.

(Composed by Makhosandile Zulu)

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