Shivambu retracts 'drugs and alcohol' claim about MK Party's Ndhlela

Former MK Party secretary-general Floyd Shivambu has withdrawn comments he made about spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela in a recent interview with eNCA in which he accused Ndhlela of taking drugs and always being drunk.

Briefing the media on Friday, Shivambu said: “I must unconditionally retract the statements about drug use and alcohol abuse of Ndhlela.”

He encouraged people to refrain from abusing drugs and alcohol, particularly MPs and members of political parties.

“Drugs will never build you anything but will lead to making a lot of mistakes,” he said.

This comes after Ndhlela's attorneys, Ndou Inc Attorneys, sent a letter to Shivambu demanding he apologise and withdraw his statements.

In the letter, the attorneys described the allegations as false, defamatory and malicious.

“The statements were made with reckless disregard for their truthfulness,” the letter read. “As a public representative and a member of the MK Party, you are duty-bound to ensure that your public statements are accurate and do not unjustly harm others.”

Shivambu was given 48 hours to publish an apology and a retraction of his statement on X, and to pin the post for a minimum of seven days, stating that “the allegations were false, without foundation and that you regret making them”.

Shivambu was also required to contact eNCA and request that they broadcast a correction of his statement.

Failure to comply with the demands within 48 hours would lead to further legal action, including a defamation case in the high court, a court order compelling him to retract his statement and issue an apology, and liability for all costs associated with the legal proceedings.

Despite his apology, Ndhlela has filed a civil case against Shivambu.

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