Pro rugby player Khwezi Mafu has found himself on top of social media trends for all the wrong reasons, and it seems, his past has caught up with him and his former lover Thulani Ndzotyana.
Khwezi Mafu hurts Thulani Ndzotyana’s 2022 Miss SA chances
Ndzotyana was forced to release a media statement, on Tuesday, to address speculation on her culpability in the sexual assault case Mafu was meddled in, back in 2018.
Back then, Mafu, who was a captain of the Under 19s Blue Bulls squad, was accused of raping an 18-year-old woman in Gqeberha.
The incident, as reported by City Press, allegedly took place in the wee hours of 28 December 2017, where it’s claimed Mafu had chased the female who, at the time, was ‘untainted’, into a wooded area and forcibly penetrated her.
According to the alleged victim, Mafu had forced her into performing oral, vaginal and anal sex. The alleged victim ran home and informed her father of what had allegedly happened.
A sexual assault case was brought against Mafu and his defence, throughout the case, was that the sexual encounter was consensual, and that the victim had drummed up these allegations out of fear for her father.
The claims made by the alleged victim were corroborated by this voice note, recorded by a man who claims he had seen Mafu running into the woods with the woman that morning.
Here's the The Voice Note. Khwezi Mafu Should remain in Jail. That's where he belongs. #KhweziMafu pic.twitter.com/q3ALY8opQ3
— Man’s NOT Barry Roux (@AdvoBarryRoux) January 3, 2018
At the time, Mafu was dating Ndzotyana, and according to the rumour mill, she was reportedly very supportive of the accused rapist.
So much so, the alleged victim’s friends claim, she mocked the entire situation and went as far as sending food to Mafu who, at the time, was held at the North End Correctional Centre.
In 2019, the State was forced to withdraw its case against Mafu, not due to any lack of forensic evidence that supported the rape charge, but because prosecutors could not locate a key state witness.
Since then, Mafu has been living as a free man, and he currently plays for the Pumas in the Currie Cup.
While he is no longer romantically involved with Ndzotyana, his past crept up on her this week when she was included in the 2022 Miss South Africa Top 30 finalists cohort, with women calling for her axing.
Miss South Africa has yet to issue a statement on the outrage, and no fresh charges have been brought against Mafu.
