Musician in court for Babes attack

Durban musician Mandla “Mampintsha” Maphumulo was granted R2‚000 bail after a brief court appearance on Tuesday on charges relating to the alleged assault of his girlfriend‚ fellow musician Bongekile Simelane‚ better known as Babes Wodumo.

Moments after he was released on bail, events in the case took an unexpected turn when Maphumulo told journalists outside the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court he had laid a counter-complaint of assault against the singer.

In his address‚ Maphumulo made reference to an “OB”‚ which is the occurrence book found in the charge rooms of police stations.

However‚ national police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo denied that Maphumulo had laid a complaint against Simelane.

Maphumulo’s lawyer‚ Pat Magwaza‚ later clarified the issue to TimesLIVE.

“We were at Westville police station to open a case of assault and check if my client had a case against him when police from a provincial task team came and interrupted the process‚ so we did not complete it,” Magwaza said.

He said he and his client would complete the process.

Maphumulo had turned himself in earlier in the day after a video of a man – believed to be Simelane’s long-time boyfriend – was recorded live on her Instagram page during the early hours of Monday.

In the video‚ a man can be seen assaulting the singer.

During his brief appearance in court, Maphumulo was wearing a “moon boot”‚ which is associated with a fractured or otherwise injured leg.

In an unopposed bail application‚ Maphumulo was ordered to have no contact with Simelane.

The matter will be back in court on May 15.

A tweet by DA leader Mmusi Maimane challenging Maphumulo to a boxing match has had a backlash, with gender activists saying he spoke to the reckless notion that violence can resolve violence.

Advocate and #TheTotalShutdown gender activist Gretchen Sudenie said the reaction by Maimane was no different from that of most men – the only difference being that he was in a leadership position.

“I call what [Maimane] does projection,” Sudenie said.

“His knee-jerk is to combat violence with violence which is symptomatic of toxic masculinity window-dressed as chivalry or hero syndrome.

“Mmusi did not pledge solidarity with that tweet.

“It was poisonous and even now, instead of centreing onBabes as the victim, masculinity overpowers the victim and her narrative.”

Gender activist and Nelson Mandela University law student Lawrence Lwanga said he did not believe violence was warranted against anybody, regardless of their gender.

“The tweet from Mmusi Maimane might have been a reaction from an emotional point of view; however, it was a very reckless tweet because it speaks to a line of thinking that violence can be used to overcome another form of violence,” Lwanga said.

“I also believe it is a very hyper-masculine type of response or activism because it then means that the most powerful or the most violent men are the ones able to combat the scourge of gender-based violence,” he said.

“I would like to see a South Africa where people get as much attention regardless of whether you are from Summerstrand or from Zwide.

“Rape is rape, gender-based violence is wrong, and they should get [the same] attention as the Babes issue.”

Clinical psychologist and Missionvale psychology centre manager Jennifer Janson said in a nation with a talking culture of storytelling and legacy sharing, people fail to talk about their personal issues and instead resort to alcohol or drug abuse, which often leads to acts of violence.

“If someone is raped, they will come in for placement or planning their future,” she said.

“But society does not come in for growth counselling, couples counselling or support counselling, which some should have as part of their lifestyle.”

She said people were afraid to admit to their aggression and would rather make excuses for violent acts – which was why violence was an issue.

Society had become immune to violent toxicity because they saw it every day.