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

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema’s wife, Mantoa Matlala, has filed a lawsuit of defamation against ANC MP and former friend Boy Mamabolo.

Mantoa has rubbished accusations made by Mamabolo in parliament on Thursday during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address that her husband had been abusive towards her.

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.

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.”

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The letter from Mantoa’s lawyer reads in part: “Our client has approached our offices in regard to the defamatory statements made against her by you.

“Your defamatory statements referred to hereinabove gravely disappoint our client. To proceed to mock victims of gender-based violence, especially in the current climate our country, by accusing innocent people of it just to tarnish their image or ‘settle a score’ is unacceptable of a person in our current society, most especially a person who is a member of parliament.

“As you may, or may not, be aware, our client has small children, the oldest being 13 years old. Your false accusations have now cast a dark cloud over the entire family. These children now need to attend school and be mocked and ridiculed due to the false accusations levelled against their parents. Your false accusations have caused grave harm and damage to the family.”

As a result, Mantoa has demanded that Mamabolo retract his accusations and apologise, or face a R1-million defamation suit.

Now Mamabolo is facing a lawsuit of R2 million from the family.

Malema has also sent a lawyer’s letter to Mamabolo demanding that he retract his “vexatious, misplaced, spurious and untrue” allegations by today or face a R1 million lawsuit of defamation.

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

(Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde)

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