A woman who was on the verge of marrying Brutus Malada says she was shocked when she came across of pictures of him tying the knot with Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse on social media.

Ntaka Tshifaro said Malada had paid lobola for her last year.

She said she moved out of their home in Sandton, Johannesburg, in September, and she suspected there was another woman in his life.

However, Sowetan has learnt that according to Malada’s version, he never paid lobola but had given Tshifaro’s family R5,000 for ivula mlomo (icebreaker between families of the bride-and-groom-to-be).

Malada, an ActionSA member, married Phalatse at the weekend.

Pictures of the newlyweds began trending on social media and Tshifaro, a businesswoman, said she got the shock of her life when friends forwarded them to her.

Speaking to Sowetan on Monday, Tshifaro said though things were not rosy between her and Malada in the months leading to her vacating their home, she never expected that things would end the way they did – with him marrying someone else.

She said she and Malada met in 2020 at a wedding and they immediately moved in together as husband and wife as culture allowed them.

Sowetan has learnt that according to Malada’s version, Tshifaro moved out of the house in August after a mutual agreement that their marriage was not working.

“I still love Brutus but I feel he should have handled things differently. There is nothing wrong about growing out of love. They both disrespected my family and me when they decided to get married without doing things the right way,” Tshifaro said.

“Brutus paid lobola to my parents and uncles and he should have taken me back to my parents if the marriage was no longer working. When I received the photos on Saturday, I was shocked but it provided answers to a lot that was happening to our marriage since the beginning of the year.

“We had our disagreements but I never thought he had given up on this marriage. I never suspected even when he said he was having meetings with Mpho that there was something going on between them. With the pictures [of Mpho and Brutus] surfacing, what should I say to my parents? I respected that woman and I am disappointed,” Tshifaro said.

She said she started seeing things change between her and Malada after they moved to Sandton from Bronkhorstspruit in December.

She said they moved to Sandton as Malada had got a job in the City of Joburg.

“At first, my engagement ring disappeared in our bedroom. I left it on top of the chest of drawers and when I told him about it, he just brushed it off. During that time, a lot was happening and we were fighting but we were still a couple.

“Due to the things he was saying and doing to me, I ended up asking if I was still his fiancée. He then dropped a bombshell that he was cancelling our engagement.

“Just a few days before he packed my bags, he started saying nasty things to me like I am stupid. I could see there was something going on but I thought he was under a lot of stress. When I came back one day he had packed all my stuff into bags, from my hair products to clothes. He said he had other things on his mind,” said Tshifaro.

She said what she wanted was to heal and seek legal advice.

In a reply to an email sent to Malada by Tshifaro seeking answers, that Sowetan has seen, the politician said: “It's spilt milk, and water under the bridge. I would rather spend sleepless nights working for the future than agonising about the past...

“I will also take my patio table, the other table from Khyber and the fridge.”

Malada declined to comment, saying his life was private.

bambalelep@sowetan.co.za