Malema sues Boy Mamabolo for R1m over allegations he abuses his wife

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema is suing ANC MP and his former friend Boy Mamabolo for R1 million over allegations he abuses his wife Mantwa.

During Thursday’s Sona, as the EFF was demanding that FW De Klerk leave parliament before President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address, Mamabolo stood up on a point of order and said the House was being abused, in the same manner that Malema’s wife was allegedly being abused.

At the time, Malema did not respond to the allegations, but now he has sent a lawyer’s letter to Mamabolo demanding that he retract his “vexatious, misplaced, spurious and untrue” allegations by Wednesday or face a R1 million lawsuit of defamation.

It reads: “It has come to our client’s attention that you have recently made defamatory statements regarding our client. These defamatory statements were made during the state of the nation address in parliament, and furthermore, repeated to Sowetan newspaper [which] published an article of it earlier today [Monday]. The statement is not only defamatory, but placed the image that our client exerts violence onto women, a crime he vehemently opposes, and not only women, but in this regards specifically his wife.

Also read: Malema’s wife Mantoa sues Boy Mamabolo for R1m over allegations of abuse

Mamabolo alleged that “Mantwa [Malema’s wife] was abused at home by honourable Malema… They won’t deny it because it’s true…’

He added: “It was nothing personal, I merely raised a point that we were being abused in the same manner that Malema’s wife is being abused. That’s why he didn’t even respond, because it’s true…”

The lawyer said: “We are further instructed that you have no evidence of any of your allegations. Self-evidently, therefore, there is no factual basis to your claims. The importance of this admission regarding your liability to our client for such defamatory statements cannot be overstated.

“We are furthermore instructed that your making these defamatory statements is done deliberately to exact political revenge on our client and his reputation and indirectly on the EFF.”

Responding to the allegations during parliament’s Sona debate on Tuesday, Malema denied abusing his wife.

He said: “When I spoke here during the Sona debate last year, anyone who has never beaten his wife in the past 25 years must raise his hand and I said I can do that because I have no history of such things. I have never, not once; not my ex, not my wife. I never laid a hand on my wife.”

(Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde)

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