Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille says her lawyers will deal with a R5-million “bribery and corruption” complaint lodged against her by the Democratic Alliance (DA).

Rapport newspaper reported on Sunday that the party had lodged a criminal complaint against De Lille in Cape Town on Friday.

It stems from a complaint by Johannesburg businessman Anthony Faul who alleged that De Lille had sought R5-million for endorsing his product – a fire extinguisher that he was marketing to use in informal settlements in the city. When he refused to pay‚ the endorsement was allegedly withdrawn.

The complaint dates back to 2012 but was only brought to the attention of the party in the past week by the businessman.

De Lille confirmed that her lawyers had obtained a copy of an affidavit submitted to the police and would “handle it further”.

She questioned why the allegations were first taken to the DA which then lodged a criminal complaint.

Last week De Lille mounted a furious attack on the DA and its Western Cape leader Bonginkosi Madikizela‚ accusing them of being desperate to remove her from her job. Allegations of nepotism‚ maladministration and corruption have been levelled against her.

She is facing a no-confidence motion at a city council meeting scheduled for February 25.