Klay's mom wants to sue Jurie

2008-03-10 09:49

Philip de Bruin

Pretoria - "These are highly irregular circumstances for a libel charge, but Jurie Els is definitely going to be charged with libel."

These were the words of Karel Jordt, Robbie Klay's mother Jenny Liebenberg's attorney, after Liebenberg decided to sue Els for allegations he had made in court documents in the Cape Town High Court.

According to these court documents, Els stated that Liebenberg "repeatedly" tried to seduce him and that she once "lay back on a couch and unbuttoned her blouse".

What made this charge extraordinary was the fact that allegations such as these were usually regarded as privileged information. This meant that parties in a case could not sue each other for libel for what was being alleged in court documents.

Not coping

But this privilege was not "unlimited". Jordt said as far as he was concerned, the high court charge had nothing to do with Liebenberg, but was between Els, Media24, Huisgenoot and You.

Els requested in court documents that Media24, the chief editor and the Gauteng editor of Huisgenoot and You be found guilty for contempt of court for publishing an interview with Klay in which he tells about "an uncle" who had molested him as a child, despite a court order prohibiting publication.

"Mrs Liebenberg has nothing to do with Robbie's allegations against Jurie. Jurie is drawing her into the case without good reason by means of allegations we believe are libellous. In my opinion the privilege won't be relevant under these circumstances."

Liebenberg said she was "battling to cope" after Els's revelations in the court documents.

"I believe that I will survive it all."

Koos du Plessis, from the office of Els's legal advisers, didn't want to comment.

- Beeld