'Stop your smear campaign‚' says Lindiwe Sisulu

Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu on Tuesday denied that she had ever attended an event hosted by the controversial Gupta family.

Sisulu said she had received several media queries about allegations circulating on social media that she had attended a Gupta event in 2015.

"The so called 'Gupta Leaks' email doing rounds in the social media purporting that Minister was amongst the list of people who accepted some form of invite by the Gupta family in February 2015 is regrettable and should be dismissed with the contempt it deserves‚" Sisula's office said in a statement.

"Whoever is behind this smear campaign against the Minister‚ for obvious reasons‚ is urged to desist from doing so immediately."

Sisulu has announced her candidacy for the ANC leadership ahead of the party's elective conference in December. In the run-up to the hotly contested conference‚ she has frequently spoken out against state capture allegations that have swirled around the Guptas.

The allegations have been highlighted in a string of damning emails‚ which have become known as the Gupta leaks.