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Showbiz Reporter
MUSICIAN Mandla “Mampintsha” Maphumulo who was yesterday arrested after a video of him physically attacking his partner, Gqom artiste Bongekile “Babes Wodumo” Simelane surfaced on Monday and caused a furore, was yesterday granted bail of R2 000.

He was also instructed not to have contact with Babes who has been moved to a different location since the incident. The two have been together for the past seven years.

Mampintsha, who appeared in court yesterday afternoon with an apparent injury to his right foot and left hand finger, also laid a counter-charge of assault against Simelane.

In his defence after the court case, Maphumulo said Babes was the one who attacked him.

“Babes came home drunk at midnight (Sunday) from wherever she was coming from. She hit me using the back of her shoe when I was sleeping. I woke up and told her she had no remorse as she was home late and was actually hitting me.

“We began arguing and she kept on beating me,” recounted Mampintsha.

He said it was clear Babes planned the whole incident, a part of it which she conveniently broadcast live on her Instagram page.

“This action that happened, it’s clear she had it all figured because when she’s fighting, she will push you so that you retaliate. She knew this well as I tried to be patient with her initially and eventually stamped her, not clap, twice then I walked out.”

Mampintsha said this was not the first time that Babes has attacked him as she often does so when she is under the influence of alcohol.

In most instances, Mampintsha said he has had to call her family to reprimand her.

“All the people around her know how she behaves when she’s drunk. I’ve been beaten so many times in that house by a knobkerrie and have reported to her parents but they’ve failed to help me.

“Babes needs to stop abusing alcohol as she becomes violent when she gets drunk. She has a drinking problem – she drinks a lot and fights. After the previous accusations that I abuse her, she started being bossy and didn’t want to listen to me. . . I’m thinking that if she stops drinking, she’ll be ok,” he said.

He added that when they fight, Babes sometimes leaves the house for two days and goes binging.

“She’ll go for about two days and come back home to me. When I see her, I avoid her by leaving the house. I call a cab and she follows me and we start arguing, leading to another fight. She likes attacking me and shouting, telling me to beat her up.”

While admitting that he still loves Babes, Mampintsha said there were people who were bent on destroying their relationship.

“There are people behind these things who are the ones who push for cases to be opened against me. I’m not the monster here, but ever since I’ve been with Babes and put her in the business, there are always stories.

“These politicians who’ve been talking a lot about this case are always in Babes’ inbox.”

After this incident, Mampintsha, who has not been picking Babes’ calls since Monday, said he would be looking for a way to clean up his image that has been tarnished.

“After this, I need to change my ways as I don’t want to be perceived as an abuser. In all my previous relationships, I’ve never laid a hand on a woman so it means that something is not right here (relationship with Babes).”

Speaking during a press briefing yesterday, Babes’ parents, through the family’s spokesperson, Sakhile Mhlonishwa Langa, said: “Babes is very emotional but stable and is seeing a psychologist to help her cope.”

Commenting on the abuse of his daughter, Babes father, Welcome Simelane on Monday said he had been aware of his daughter’s abuse for a while, but there was nothing he could do as she kept on going back to him.

In an interview with Vuma FM, Simelane accused Mampintsha of using muthi on his daughter.

“UMandla wayidlisa le ngane’yam (he gave my daughter muthi) because she told me that she found a voodoo doll under her mattress written “Babes”, which means when he pokes this thing (doll), he pokes Babes.

“This means he went somewhere (witchdoctor) and they made him a doll which is basically Babes and when she tries to leave him, he calls her back by using this doll,” he said.

On this purported use of juju on Babes, Mampintsha yesterday said: “So I’ve given her muthi now because she has money? I didn’t feed her muthi at the time I was grooming and building her brand using my money?”