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Cameron’s response comes after Mkhize’s lawyers wrote a letter demanding the withdrawal of defamatory allegations he made against her.
Ian Cameron was forced to apologise to businesswoman Shauwn Mkhize for statements he said about her. Pictures: OJ Koloti/Getty Images and kwa_mammkhize/Instagram
Democratic Alliance (DA) member of parliament (MP) Ian Cameron has admitted to mistakenly implicating Shauwn Mkhize in Vusimusi ‘Cat’ Matlala’s alleged criminal activities.
“On Monday, I misspoke by naming the wrong Vusimusi in relation to the firearms cache found at Shaun Mkhize’s property during a raid by Sars [South African Revenue Service],” said Cameron, responding to The Citizen.
Cameron’s response comes after Mkhize’s lawyers wrote a letter demanding the withdrawal of defamatory allegations, a public apology and retraction of statements he made about Mkhize.
During a media briefing of the Peace and Security Cluster in Parliament on Monday, Cameron, who is the Police Portfolio Committee chairperson, said the cache of firearms illegally kept at Mkhize’s home belonged to Matlala.
For clarity, Cameron said the illegally stored arms belonged to companies owned by Vusimusi Xaba, not Vusimusi Matlala.
The latter was implicated in nefarious criminal activity by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi during his fiery media briefing on Sunday.
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Mkhize lawyers
In their demand for the withdrawal of Cameron’s statements, Mkhize’s legal representatives, Nefuri Attorneys, demanded an ‘unequivocal and public retraction’ from the MP.
“The statements were made with reckless disregard for their truthfulness and authenticity,” said Mkhize’s legal team.
Nefuri Attorneys noted that because Cameron’s utterances went viral on Newzroom Afrika’s social media pages, his retraction and apology should also receive the same airtime as his initial comments.
“This retraction must be published and or broadcast in the same parliament and all media coverage. It must be clear and explicit on your retraction that the allegations were false, without basis and verification and lacked authenticity and that you deeply regret that you made them,” said the legal team.
However, speaking to The Citizen, Cameron said no matter which Vusimusi it is, “the fact remains: a significant cache of firearms was unlawfully stored.”
“Raising serious questions about regulatory failure, firearm control, and private security oversight. These matters are of clear public interest and fall squarely within my constitutional oversight role as a Member of Parliament, which is protected by parliamentary privilege,” he said.
He added that he will continue to hold the South African Police Service, Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) and other regulators accountable for systemic failures and ensure that these critical issues do not go unchallenged.
“The firearms were stored in contravention of PSIRA’s own regulations and seemingly the Firearms Control Act,” Cameron said.
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