Comedian cleared of rape will drag model to court
COMEDIAN Mongezi “Tol Ass Mo” Mahlangu will be suing model Lerato Moloi for defamation following his acquittal by the Paarl Magistrate’s Court on rape charges that have been hanging over his head since 2020.
Mahlangu, who was cleared on Tuesday, said he would be focusing on picking up the pieces of his life and career which were ruined when he was labelled a rapist.
In 2014 Mahlangu and Moloi participated in the celebrity edition of Masterchef South Africa which was recorded in Paarl, Western Cape. But it was only in 2020 that Moloi took to Twitter, accusing Mahlangu of rape. Moloi said the rape had occurred at a residence where participants stayed while filming.
Soon after the tweets went viral, Mahlangu informed his attorneys who sought an interdict and a protection order against the model. She was ordered to remove the social media accusations, but she failed to comply, resulting in her arrest.
In a statement released in 2020, Moloi said the trauma, guilt and shame of the incident had left her with emotional scars and that Mahlangu had been trying to silence her.
“It is shocking that the same legal system meant to protect victims is being used and manipulated to further oppress and silence victims, especially victims of GBV,” she said.
The Sunday Tribune unsuccessfully tried to get comment from Moloi through her management company.
In July Mahlangu enlisted the services of Specialised Security Services (SSS) to investigate the matter.
According to investigator Antoinette Coetzer, Mahlangu underwent a polygraph test prior to the team taking on the case to determine the truthfulness of his statement. She said Mahlangu showed no deception.
“The reason why he had to undergo a polygraph test is because rape is a serious crime in South Africa and we had to determine whether he was telling the truth before accepting the case,” she said.
Coetzer said Mahlangu stated that on the dates that the alleged incident occurred he had already left the residence. She said after Moloi’s arrest for failure to comply with a court order, she was advised by her then attorney to open a criminal case against Mahlangu.
“The case went to the Paarl Magistrate’s Court where a prosecutor refused to continue and it was then sent to Cape Town and prosecutors there also would not continue due to lack of evidence. It had to be sent back to Paarl, and Mahlangu was acquitted,” she said.
Coetzer said the case ruined the comedian financially and damaged his family emotionally. She said his wife was attacked for standing with him.
“This matter totally destroyed him and he was labelled a rapist. After the allegations he had to relocate to a place where nobody knew him. His side of the story was never listened to, but he was judged even before the court case started.
“False claims in South Africa are common. Women do abuse the Domestic Violence Act while false charges ruin the lives of men and their families. Women should bear the consequences of laying false charges. Mahlangu has been cleared by the court and we truly hope that the charges that will be laid now will be done in order for his life to return to what it was,” Coetzer said.