Bongekile Simelane, better known as gqom queen Babes Wodumo, took to Twitter on Friday morning to warn her followers that, according to her, her estranged partner Mandla “Mampintsha” Maphumulo has been posing as her on Instagram.
“Greetings everyone,” a tweet from Simelane’s verified account reads.
“I would like to put it on record that Mampintsha is using my Instagram account, without my consent, to comment on his statuses. He has my password, including that of iCloud, so he has access to my accounts. He posts to his account then logs into mine log to comment,” she said.
This follows Maphumulo’s alleged abuse of Simelane. An Instagram Live video the artist posted on Monday appeared to show Maphumulo attacking her, leading to widespread outrage.
Simelane laid a charge of assault against Maphumulo, who appeared in the Pinetown Magistrate Court on Tuesday, where he was released on bail of R2,000. He will reappear in court on May 15.
Maphumulo’s lawyer Pat Magwaza, speaking outside the court, told reporters that his client was abused and assaulted by Simelane and the video footage shows him acting in self-defence. He added that his client had laid counter-assault charges and that the whole incident “looks like a setup“.
Most of those responding to Babes’ tweet were less than sympathetic, with multiple users questioning why, if Mampintsha has hijacked her account, she didn’t simply change the password.
One user suggested the pair are “playing us as fools”, another said “this is starting to get childish” and one suggested the couple – if they are indeed still together – should consider “consulting a psychiatrist or a shrink”.
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