Outgoing Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille intends to sue businessman Anthony Faul for R1 million for defamation.
De Lille told a media briefing on Sunday that she had been formally notified this week by the Hawks that the bribery charges against her had been withdrawn by the senior state prosecutor.
In February, Democratic Alliance federal executive chairperson James Selfe said that the party had approached police with an affidavit they had received from Faul.
The bribery allegation dates back more than five years and related to Faul's negotiations with the City of Cape Town safety and security disaster risk management department for fire retardant paint for informal settlements.
He claimed De Lille wanted a payment of R5m.
"I rejected these ludicrous allegations from the onset when they appeared out of thin air in February this year. This was at the height of the time when the DA was trying everything to remove me at all costs by throwing all sorts of allegations at me hoping that something would stick," De Lille said.
"To date, I have not been found guilty of anything that I have been accused of. I have always said that the truth will always survive and that I am not afraid to subject myself to any due process to properly test the allegations against me, open to the public and the media."
"The allegations made by Faul are patently false and were a vicious attack on my good name and reputation. As such, they were defamatory in the extreme and I have instructed my lawyers to pursue a defamation case against him for R1 million," De Lille said.
- African News Agency (ANA
