LGBTIQ+ activist and Feathers Awards co-founder Thami Kotlolo has refuted claims made by Mohale Motaung that he encouraged Motaung to return to his 'abusive' marriage to then husband Somizi Mhlongo.
Motaung whose show Mohale on the Record premiered last week on Showmax mentioned that at one time when an assault happened Kotlolo left the house. He said Kotlolo later called him to say Mhlongo was sorry.
Motaung said the assault happened on a day he had returned from a work trip in Durban.
“After the assault I decided to call my friend who is a doctor at Vosloorus at the time. He was able to see that my ribs were scratched. [Somizi and I] eventually got to speak, through his friend Thami who called me. He pleaded with me to come to his house to speak about the incident.”
When Aldrin Sampear, the interviewer on the show, asked: “So, Thami knew?” Mohale responded saying: “Thami did know yes. He told me that Somizi is sorry and it will never happen again. I should go back to the house.”
In his statement dated August 12, Kotlolo said he could have not done that because he is a victim of abuse himself that is why he was advocating for queer rights.
“I was shocked and dismayed by the inclusion of my name in the Showmax Special Mohale on Record. While I applaud Mr Motaung for speaking out, I would have preferred to be afforded a right of reply in the instances where my name is implicated, especially as an enabler of abuse. This goes directly against everything I stand for, as evidence by the work I do in this regard.”
“While I would have facilitated a meeting between them at my house following an altercation, it would have been purely for a purpose of having both parties share their side of the story from their perspective. At no point I suggested that Mr Motaung returns to a home or relationship where there was an ongoing abuse. That would have been a decision he took outside of my influence.”
“I have built a career rooted in advocacy and activism for queer people in South Africa. I arrived at who I am today having endured domestic violence abuse in a relationship that lasted many years in my youth. Finding the strength to leave that relationship has made me to work closely with issues of queer Rights Advocacy in my personal and professional capacity. This is why I am immensely triggered by the claims that I have condoned abuse in relationships.”
Queer rights activist Thami Kotlolo unhappy with being labelled an abuse enabler
I should have been afforded right of reply, says Kotlolo
Image: Veli Nhlapo
LGBTIQ+ activist and Feathers Awards co-founder Thami Kotlolo has refuted claims made by Mohale Motaung that he encouraged Motaung to return to his 'abusive' marriage to then husband Somizi Mhlongo.
Motaung whose show Mohale on the Record premiered last week on Showmax mentioned that at one time when an assault happened Kotlolo left the house. He said Kotlolo later called him to say Mhlongo was sorry.
Motaung said the assault happened on a day he had returned from a work trip in Durban.
“After the assault I decided to call my friend who is a doctor at Vosloorus at the time. He was able to see that my ribs were scratched. [Somizi and I] eventually got to speak, through his friend Thami who called me. He pleaded with me to come to his house to speak about the incident.”
When Aldrin Sampear, the interviewer on the show, asked: “So, Thami knew?” Mohale responded saying: “Thami did know yes. He told me that Somizi is sorry and it will never happen again. I should go back to the house.”
In his statement dated August 12, Kotlolo said he could have not done that because he is a victim of abuse himself that is why he was advocating for queer rights.
“I was shocked and dismayed by the inclusion of my name in the Showmax Special Mohale on Record. While I applaud Mr Motaung for speaking out, I would have preferred to be afforded a right of reply in the instances where my name is implicated, especially as an enabler of abuse. This goes directly against everything I stand for, as evidence by the work I do in this regard.”
“While I would have facilitated a meeting between them at my house following an altercation, it would have been purely for a purpose of having both parties share their side of the story from their perspective. At no point I suggested that Mr Motaung returns to a home or relationship where there was an ongoing abuse. That would have been a decision he took outside of my influence.”
“I have built a career rooted in advocacy and activism for queer people in South Africa. I arrived at who I am today having endured domestic violence abuse in a relationship that lasted many years in my youth. Finding the strength to leave that relationship has made me to work closely with issues of queer Rights Advocacy in my personal and professional capacity. This is why I am immensely triggered by the claims that I have condoned abuse in relationships.”
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