‘I must unconditionally retract': Floyd Shivambu apologizes for drug use accusations against Ndhlela
Former uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party secretary-general Floyd Shivambu has retracted his statement accusing the party's spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, of drug use after Ndhlela took legal action against him for defamation.
'You know, the other time I was not the national convener of the Mayibuye Process. Now, I got the benefit of benefiting from the leadership collective, in terms of how we should handle certain things,' Shivambu said during a press conference Friday.
'And part of the guidance, which I agreed with, is that I must unconditionally retract the statements about drug use and alcohol abuse of Nhlamulo Ndhlela - unconditionally.'
Shivambu used the opportunity to encourage South Africans to avoid drugs and alcohol, especially those serving in Parliament or leadership roles across political parties.
'Drugs will never build you with anything; you will make a lot of mistakes. But we really unconditionally retract those statements made there, under the guidance of the collective of the leadership,' he added.
Shivambu made the remarks while announcing members of the Mayibuye National Consultation Team and providing reflections on the progress of the Mayibuye Consultation Process, which he will lead.
His retraction comes after Ndhlela confirmed he is suing Shivambu for defamation, and is demanding R3 million for defamation.
In court papers shared on social media, Ndhlela said he filed charges at the Gauteng Local Division of the High Court.
IOL News previously reported that Ndhlela has publicly denied the allegations and published drug and alcohol screening results from Lancet Laboratories on his official X account.
The results indicated he tested negative for substances including alcohol, cannabis (THC), cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, methadone, methaqualone, and phencyclidine (PCP).
When contacted by IOL News, Lancet Laboratories said they could neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of the published test results.
simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za
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