Lerato Makgatho
Lerato Makgatho has spoken out about her alleged relationships with Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, saying the relationships are now a thing of the past.
Though the story only became public on Sunday, Makgatho claimed she was no longer in a relationship with the two ministers. She only went public with the story because she was made to believe there was someone who was using it to blackmail them.
She said in a video that has been circulating on social media: “I’m not in a relationship with Tito, I’m not in a relationship with Gwede. These relationships happened in the past. I broke up with Tito Mboweni in November last year and Gwede Mantashe this year. We are still good friends, we communicate. We are not enemies. I was surprised when people thought the relationships were recent. It’s not a recent thing.
“The reason why we did the story is because they made me believe there was someone who was blackmailing the ministers and the story needed to come out so this person can stop. If the information is out there then it’s useless, there’s no way anyone can use it to blackmail them. It’s a thing of the past and we do talk, but we’re not in a relationship any more.”
Makgatho further denied saying Mboweni was weak in bed and clarified that she only said he was “different”.
“I just said he’s traditional, he’s different from Gwede. Yes, Gwede is a tiger in bed but it doesn’t mean Tito doesn’t last long. It’s a lie,” she concluded.
The two ministers have not denied the relationship with Makgatho, though Mantashe has been under fire for allegedly saying he paid journalists R70,000 to bury the story. He later denied that he had made such a payment, though he made conflicting and confusing statements about whether he had actually claimed to do it.
Following criticism from the South African National Editors Forum and Sunday World, who broke the story, Mantashe made a U-turn and said he had lied about paying journalists.
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