Durban musician Mandla “Mampintsha” Maphumulo was granted R2‚000 bail on Tuesday after a brief court appearance on charges relating to the alleged assault of his girlfriend‚ fellow musician Bongekile Simelane‚ better known as Babes Wodumo.
Events in the case took an unexpected turn when Maphumulo laid a counter-charge.
A tweet by DA leader Mmusi Maimane challenging Maphumulo to a boxing match has also received a backlash with gender activists saying he spoke to the reckless notion that violence can resolve violence.
Maphumulo 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 several times.
During the brief appearance in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court‚ Maphumulo was wearing a “moon boot“‚ which is associated with a broken‚ fractured or otherwise injured leg. Before the court appearance‚ his lawyer confirmed that Maphumulo had laid a counter-charge of assault with police.
In an unopposed bail application‚ Maphumulo was ordered to have no contact directly or indirectly with Simelane. The matter will be back in court on May 15.
Earlier in the day, Maphumulo’s legal representative Pat Magwaza told eNCA outside the Westville police station – where he was being held – that his client had opened a case against Simelane.
“Luckily on the day of the incident he came here in the early hours of the morning‚ around 7am to 8am‚ and then wrote a statement.
“From what I’ve heard from him‚ yes it was before the video because he was then defending himself when the video was made‚” Magwaza said during the interview.
Advocate and #TheTotalShutdown gender activist Gretchen Sudenie said the reaction by Maimane is no different to that of most men – the only difference is that he is in a position of leadership.
“I call what [Maimane] does, projection. His knee-jerk is to combat violence with violence which is symptomatic of toxic masculinity window-dressed as chivalry or hero-syndrome,” Sudenie said.
“Mmusi did not pledge solidarity with that tweet. It was poisonous and even now, instead of centring Babes as the victim, masculinity overpowers the victim and her narrative.”
Gender activist and law student at Nelson Mandela University, Lawrence Lwanga, said he did not believe violence was warranted towards 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.“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,” Lwanga said.
“Democracy means the people can self actualise and be who and what they want to be without facing the wrath of people who want more power because Mampintsha would only beat Babes as a flex of power.
“I would like to see a South Africa where people get as much attention regardless of whether you are from Summerstrand or you are from Zwide.
"Rape is rape, gender-based violence is wrong and they should get equal attention as the Babes issue,” Lwanga said.
Clinical psychologist and manager of Missionvale psychology centre, 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. But society does not come in for growth counseling, couples counseling or support counseling, which some should have as part of their lifestyle,” Janson said.
She said people were afraid to admit to their aggression and would rather make excuses for violent acts which is why violence is an issue.
Janson said because of the country’s history and the culture of abuse in highly-populated areas, society has become immune to violent toxicity because they see it every day.