State deems Butterfly defamation claim as 'out of bounds'

According to the State, the defamation claim should not be allowed in court as it is justifiable for utterances to have been made against Maswabi since they were/are part of legal proceedings before the Court.

In its notice of appearance to defend against the P30 million lawsuit Maswabi is also gunning for, the state says the alleged defamation employed qualified immunity and privilege legally. “The statements alleged to be defamatory were made in the course of legal proceedings against the plaintiff and were relevant to the matter at issue,” the state argued.