Mboweni's lawyers dealing with response to 'racist' spat

A letter asking Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni to apologise for accusing a shareholder of speaking in a racist manner at the bank’s general meeting has been sent to his personal lawyers to deal with, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.

“We have handed over the letter to Mr Mboweni’s lawyers [Werksmans Attorneys] and they’re dealing with it now,” said spokesperson for the office of the governor Samantha Henkeman, adding that it was not the bank’s lawyers but Mboweni’s.

The letter—from a shareholder’s lawyer—was sent to the bank on Friday following a comment made by Mboweni to shareholder Mario Pretorius at the annual meeting on September 19.

According to the letter, Pretorius asked Mboweni at the AGM to bring the meeting to order. Mboweni apparently refused, and Pretorius responded by saying “shocking”.

‘I shall not permit you to talk to me like whites used to talk to blacks”, Mboweni was reported to have said.

Pretorius, through his lawyer, Johan van Huyssteens, requested a public apology for the accusation that he spoke to the governor in a racist manner.

The letter states that Mboweni should withdraw his statement and apologise unconditionally by way of a letter and a statement in the media.

Should Mboweni not act by October 3, Van Huyssteens said Pretorius would institute a claim against him and the South African Reserve Bank for R1-million.

Mboweni could possibly face further damage claims from Pretorius, the letter stated.

“Should your unsolicited branding of our client as a racist negatively influence his business, he obviously reserves the right to claim further damages from you [Mboweni] and SARB,” the letter stated.

Mboweni’s lawyers could not be immediately reached for comment.