"Instead of being excited at my pregnancy, he just vanished. He lied and said he was married. He also demanded a DNA test, which later proved that the child was indeed his"

A media officer in the office of Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe is being accused by his former lover of refusing to pay maintenance for their three-year-old baby girl.

Kananelo Motsamai, a former credit controller who is currently unemployed, is accusing Sam Matome Bopape, with whom he had a five-month fling, of not maintaining their daughter and refusing to appear before the maintenance court.

Motsamai, 30, of Mooikloof, east of Pretoria, said Bopape told her he was Motlanthe's speech writer when they first met.

"We were madly in love, and I was always with him. His parents knew me, and he knew mine," Motsamai said. "We were even discussing getting married."

Motsamai said when he found out she was pregnant, things started to change between them.

"Instead of being excited, he just vanished. I kept on calling until he told me that he will send his elders from Polokwane to discuss the pregnancy with my parents. I am still waiting."

When the baby was eight months old, Motsamai decided to go to the Randburg Magistrate's Court to force him to pay.

"He lied and said he was married and that he can only afford to pay R300 a month. He also demanded a DNA test, which later proved that the child was indeed his. I refused the R300 as it is too little ... and I had just been retrenched."

Two years down the line, Bopape had not paid a cent.

When contacted for comment, Bopape said: "I do not discuss my personal life with anyone, especially the media".

Bopape is expected to appear in the maintenance court on September 25.

- lerato@sowetan.co.za