“Babes was given to me by God”
Accused woman basher Mampintsha says he still wants to marry his alleged victim
An unrepentant Mampintsha says he is still in love with Babes Wodumo and wants to marry her despite allegations of assault levelled against him.
“I love Babes wholeheartedly. I did not even know that she had dumped me, I heard from you [Metro FM] on Friday. That is why I [was engaged to] her because I wanted to take our love to the next level,” he said in Zulu on Metro FM yesterday. During a live broadcast of The Drive on Friday with hosts Mo Flava and Masechaba Ndlovu, Mampintsha – real name Mandla Maphumulo – was accused of physically abusing Babes.
Babes said she broke up with the music boss in March after he had allegedly punched and kicked her to an extent of sustaining a broken leg at some point.
The Wololo hitmaker, real name Bongekile Simelane, said she had moved on.
Mampintsha lost it several times during the interview yesterday and charged at Ndlovu, accusing her of meddling in his relationship.
He insisted that his relationship problems with Simelane were “no different from everyone else’s”.
“Ever since I started dating Babes there has been fights. I have been fighting for Babes and there are bigger problems than these. People are trying to ruin my name,” he added.
The interview was marred by on-and-off rantings from Mampintsha and dismissive undertones as he indirectly ignored questions.
Mampintsha denied abusing Babes and said everything was exaggerated by third parties.
“There were no punches involved or breaking of legs, hence you hear people asking where are pictures and where are medical records ... I am also shocked. Babes and I come a very long way. Babes was given to me by God,” he said, sounding rather delusional.
“I am shocked that it’s other people who are talking on behalf of Babes. If I had done what is said I did I am sure there would be pictures posted and we would have broken up a long time ago. We have our problems,” he insisted.
The West Ink boss did not respond directly to questions asked but instead asked for prayers to help him and his “girlfriend” fix their relationship problems.
When Ndlovu insisted it was over, he dismissed her saying she spoke too much as “if you are my girlfriend”.
However, he admitted posting pictures of Babes on her Instagram page and said this was because they were engaged.
Babes had said, in the Friday interview, that Mampintsha had posted the picture of her wearing an engagement ring and looking pregnant on social media last week.
He said he last spoke to Babes on Tuesday last week when she told him she was promoting her new single.
‘‘ I didn’t know she dumped me, I heard it from you [Metro] on Friday
The nation, if social media is any useful measuring tool, has been up in arms over the revelation of the apparent abusive relationship between music couple Babes Wodumo and her former lovercum-manager Mampintsha.
The news broke out late last week when, pressed for answers on a radio interview, Babes alleged that the burly kwaito musician had assaulted her – punching her and that he had once broken her leg.
It is a tale all too familiar in this country, where stories of women abuse at the hands of their partners are always in the news.
Just about two weeks ago a young man Sandile Mantsoe was sentenced to an effective 32 years in jail for the murder of Karabo Mokoena, his young lover.
The seemingly manufactured collective rage of a nation was beginning to die down as we went back to what counts for normality in this country as other crimes such as daily cash-in-transit robberies pushed such ‘mundane’ issues as women and child abuse off the main headlines.
Then the Babes interview on Metro FM by Masechaba Ndlovu brought the matter back into the collective national gaze.
While many expressed their outrage at the revelations, there were those – true to the typical South African way – who found fault with how the matter was brought to the attention of a wider audience.
Some have reportedly known about the abuse but had clearly not learnt the lesson from the Karabo Mokoena tragedy where those who knew failed to break the conspiracy of silence and thereby arguably contributed to the sorry conclusion of the story.
Mampintsha, born Mandla Maphumulo, in his response has not exactly denied the allegations made by Babes.
Yesterday, in an interview with Ndlovu, he denied punching her and accused others of trying to break up their relationship. He curiously asked for the nation’s prayers in helping him and his now former girlfriend sort out their problems.
He sounded like someone in denial of the abusive nature of the relationship and refused to answer some questions.
We urge Maphumulo to seek professional help to help him deal with his alleged abuse demons. What Babes did in coming out about the abuse is an example many women in her position would do well to follow.