A few months after being charged with physical violence and appearing in Randburg Magistrate's Court, DJ Maphorisa shocked followers by sharing a picture of actor turned DJ Thuli P on his Instagram account.
Thuli P, real name Thulisile Pongolo, who first denied being in a relationship with Maphorisa on social media, said in May that they were embroiled in a violent disagreement, to which Maphorisa responded angrily and began slapping her.
In recent events which raised eyebrows, DJ Maphorisa Sekowe posted a series of pictures on his Instagram, charting his day where he performed at Loftus Versfeld on November 12, in Pretoria, closing his post with a picture of the former actress.
Sekowe left many fans raising concerns about cases of GBV months after Thuli P alleged that she was assaulted by him.
Despite showing up at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court and confirming the withdrawal of the assault case against her lover, some of their fans have spoken about the seriousness of the assault.
X user @Qengi commented and said: “I can’t help but think what if that CPUT hun goes back to that guy who stabbed her.”
Another user also weighed in on the hot subject, highlighting the fact that maybe Thuli P is dependent on DJ Maphorisa - something that is hindering her from walking away.
@RationalisACT: “The chat about @Thuli_P not being able to leave because her stability @ depends on Maphorisa bores me. Sometimes, victims need to be ‘blamed’ the same way black people are often blamed for not overthrowing white supremacy.”
When the pair shared a joint statement a few days after the court appearance, many other fans did suspect they might be together again.
They told their fans that the gender-based violence matter had been handled privately.
“Being public figures, it is unavoidable that the public, media, and their respective commercial partners all have an interest in this matter. Accordingly; they have decided to release this joint statement as the official and exclusive statement in the matter. The matter has received mixed public attention, causing a great deal of emotional stress on both parties involved. It is on this basis that the parties have since elected to resolve this matter privately through their respective management and legal teams. Consequently, Phongolo has since withdrawn the charges laid against Sekowe at the SAPS, Sandton Station.
“Both parties have noted with concern, the disparaging, defamatory, and (in some instances) untrue remarks, statements, and reports emanating from the incident and view these in a serious light. The parties reserve their rights to individually pursue legal action against persons making defamatory and/or false statements in relation to this matter.
“It is the desire of both parties to return to their respective fields of work following the now concluded private resolution of this matter. Neither of the parties have any intention to allow this private matter to impact their respective, or the other party's brand and professional interests. They request the public to give them the time and space to return to their work unhindered,” said Pongolo and Sekowe.
Even though many women have dropped allegations of assault against their spouses, it was noted that this does not alter the fact that there was gender-based violence committed.
A wave of disappointment followed Thuli P’s withdrawal of the accusations against DJ Maphorisa, even if many people were not surprised.
Many people had anticipated that this case would be different because femicide and gender-based violence are seen as serious and pervasive issues in South Africa.
The Star