Adams versus the two Ms
2003-05-27 18:48
Cape Town - The peccadilloes of two of the Western Cape's fallen politicians will be under the spotlight in the Cape High Court on Wednesday in a civil trial involving over R2m.
Former Western Cape MEC Freda Adams is suing the leader of the New Labour Party, Peter Marais, and former Democratic Alliance deputy chair Gerald Morkel, both of whom have been premier of the Western Cape and mayor of Cape Town.
Adams has two cases against Marais. The first is a claim for R125 000 for defamation at a political rally in September 2000. The second - for R1m - is for defamation flowing from an interview Marais had with a community radio station in which he claimed she had an affair with her chauffeur.
Adams is suing Morkel for defamation related to statements at a press conference a few days after the radio interview in which he allegedly said that Adams was pursuing a "sick vendetta" against Marais and she (Adams) "needed treatment".
A further claim against Marais is for R1.2m for alleged sexual harassment between August and November 1999.
Speaking to Sapa on Tuesday, Adams's attorney Brian Biebuyck would not confirm speculation that Adams had a mass of secret audio recordings of meetings involving her, Marais and Morkel.
"I don't want to pre-empt the trial... but all the material has been discovered and watch this space," said Biebuyck.
"We did have discussions in the last week regarding an out-of-court settlement, but nothing acceptable has come up."
Biebuyck said Adams had waited for this day for a long time and had "no fears of getting up into the witness stand and telling it as it is".
He confirmed that Adams' house was for sale, but that the sale was "not an issue" as far as legal costs were concerned.
Attempts to contact Marais - who has been accused of sexual harassment from more than one quarter with nothing materialising out of the claims - proved fruitless.
Marais's wife of 38 years, Bonita, stood by her man and told Sapa that "Marais was the best man ever and I have the highest regard for him... this is an onslaught on our marriage."
Morkel, a councillor in the Cape Town Unicity, was also not available. But his attorney Kobus Brynard said that according to Morkel he had "never said anything that was defamatory or harmful to Adams and that it was a matter of perception".
- SAPA