Inkatha Freedom Party president Mangosuthu Buthelezi has refused to comment on news articles about his “alleged love children”.
Buthelezi said in a statement on Monday that the article about his alleged love children published in the City Press was defamatory and deliberately meant to discredit him.
“The City Press has been on a mission to discredit me and in the absence of matters of substance that would clearly pertain to my public life it has stooped to the level of tabloids that scrape the bottom of the barrel with defamatory and apocryphal averments,” Buthelezi said.
Legal advice
“The City Press first exploited the recent arrest of my grandson on the charges of theft of a licensed firearm and when this story failed to make the desired impact, the newspaper proceeded to revive an old rumour peddled by my political opponents both inside and outside the IFP.
“I wish to make it clear that I will not be commenting now or in the future on malicious rumours that have a bearing on my personal life and my family and if these rumours persist, I will consider seeking legal advice against those who continue to spread them.”
City Press editor Ferial Haffajee could not be immediately reached for comment.
The newspaper reported on Sunday that Buthelezi had been hiding his “illegitimate kids by several women” for several years.
It said four men, three of whom survive on pensions and one who is a cleaner at a hospital, claim that Buthelezi “sired them” with a variety of women between 1948 and 1974 and then “dumped” them. – Sapa