The Editor
The Sunday Times
Via email: [email protected]
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Dear Sir:
I have taken note of Monica Laganparsad’s article titled “Bloody death after guards quarrel” (Sunday Times: March 26, 2011).
This bizarre incident in which one of my bodyguards was killed has left me and my staff severely traumatised. We convey our deepest condolences to the Nkwanyana family and pledge to leave no stone unturned as we assist the police to the get to the bottom of this inexplicable murder.
I am concerned however about the way this report was turned into an unwarranted pot-shot at me. Ms Laganparsad alleges that “my entourage” and I booked into a “luxury” resort after “an IFP rally near Vryheid”.
This is far from the truth. The three-star accommodation we stayed at was not a “luxury resort” and I was not there on the campaign trail for the IFP. I was in fact there as the Mayor of Zululand accessing my municipality’s Integrated Development Plan strategies and taking these plans to the people, which is a requirement by law.
If Ms Laganparsad insists on using tragedy as an opportunity to disparage me, she should at least get her facts straight.
CLLR BLESSED GWALA
MAYOR OF THE ZULULAND DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY
