Court papers will be served on two top New National Party (NNP) officials in Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon’s defamation lawsuit against them on Monday, Leon’s office confirmed on Saturday.
Leon’s representative Anthony Hazell said summons was to have been issued on Friday, but the sheriff of the court had been unable to do so.
Leon is suing NNP executive director Renier Schoeman and deputy executive director Daryl Swanepoel for R1-million damages after they referred to him as a ”political swindler”.
Leon lodged papers with the Cape High Court on Friday.
Schoeman issued a statement at the end of last month, which bore the headline ”Tony Leon is a political swindler”.
The statement, referring to alleged donations made by German businessman Jurgen Harksen to the DA, said it appeared that ”money laundering could have been involved, which would have been a serious crime”.
It said Leon’s ”personal involvement in the Harksen scandal has unmasked the real Tony Leon: a political swindler who may well have been involved in serious corruption”.
Swanepoel made similar statements in a letter published a few days later.
Leon was reported in the Weekend Argus newspaper on Saturday as having said that this was the first time in his 16 years in public office that he had taken such a step.
”The NNP leadership has crossed the line, the result of which has been to affect, indeed besmirch, my good name and reputation, and my dignity without substantiation, and with reckless disregard for truth and consequence,” he said.
Two top New National Party officials branded Leon’s lawsuit a ”media gimmick”.
The two officials, NNP national executive director Renier Schoeman and his deputy Daryl Swanepoel said in a joint statement that members of the media had informed them of the possibility of the lawsuit sometime ago.
”It was merely another of Leon’s desperate moves and diversion tactics in an attempt to distract attention away from the DA with regard to their numerous problems, which they clearly did not know how to handle.
”It was clear that Leon has trouble taking the blows he so dearly loves to dish out in politics. Leon must learn to take his own medicine.
”Should we receive any documentation (regarding the case) we will hand them over to the NNP’s legal department,” the two said. – Sapa