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I welcome the Western Cape High Court ruling handed down today confirming a retraction and apology by the ANC Youth League, Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu for various defamatory statements made by them during 2009.

I issued these summonses following statements made during 2009 by the ANC Youth League, Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu, after I had requested them to apologise and they had failed to do so. In the settlement reached between the parties, the following terms have been agreed to and are now an order of court:

The ANC Youth League, Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu unreservedly apologise for the defamatory statements made by them.
The ANC Youth League, Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu unequivocally retract the defamatory statements.
The ANC Youth League, Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu are jointly and severally liable to pay my taxed legal costs.

These court orders are a victory for constitutional democracy and the norms that the law sets out in terms of defamation. There is no room for unfounded defamatory statements in our society and this ruling upholds that in clear and strong terms. Politics must be about issues, not gratuitous and baseless insults.