DA to lay complaint with Press Ombudsman over libellous report on Van Damme citizenship
29 June 2014
The DA will lay a complaint with the Press Ombudsman against the Sunday Times following its report on the citizenship of DA National Spokesperson Phumzile Van Damme today. The report is opportunistic at best, and libellous at worst (see Sunday Times report).
The circumstances surrounding her birth and the registration of accompanying documentation cannot be attributed to her and was entirely beyond her control. Labelling Van Damme a "liar and a fraud" is defamatory and gutter journalism.
Van Damme only became aware of the potential questions around her citizenship when approached by the Sunday Times. Naturally this is a deeply personal matter that is greatly concerning to her. Van Damme would like to get to the bottom of the matter but has not had time to do so extensively, making her reaction to the story, out of necessity, incomplete.
Van Damme is a South African citizen and possesses the necessary documentation to support this, including a birth certificate and a valid identity document. These documents were made available to the paper. She was also under the impression that she was born outside Nelspruit, in what is now Mpumalanga, as reflected in her birth certificate.