Here's the Latest on South African Artist Babes Wodumo's Assault Case
Finding it difficult to follow what's been happening with the artist and her assault case? We've got you covered.
A lot has transpired since South African gqom artist Babes Wodumo, real name Bongekile Simelane, was seen being beaten by her boyfriend and fellow musician Mampintsha, real name Mandla Maphumulo, on Instagram Live. Here's what's happened since Babes Wodumo filed an assault charge against Mampintsha and was later hospitalized for a short period.
Following her short hospitalization, what was bewildering for many Babes Wodumo fans was the surfacing of a video of the singer performing a verse from Khona Ingane Lay'ndlini, a song recently released by Mampintsha featuring DJ Tira. Loosely translated, the verse that Babes sang (also the name of the single) means "behave, there are children in the house"—the exact words Mampintsha yelled at her in their Instagram Live video that subsequently went viral.
However, Babes Wodumo's manager issued the following statement with regards to the video:
"It is not a publicity stunt. You know the song Mampintsha released was about the video (of the alleged assault). She was actually mocking the song, not trying to make it a trend. Obviously it was taken another way, but she was actually mocking the song."
More recently, the National Prosecuting Authority(NPA) applied for a warrant of arrest to be issued for Babes and her sister after the pair failed to appear in court last week Friday. The pair were both charged with assault last month by a woman whom they believed had leaked a number of videos of Babes. Whilst she was not arrested, Babes was fined and given a stern warning about respecting court proceedings by the judge.
On the other hand, after laying a counter charge of assault against Babes Wodumo and starting an organization for abusers of women, Mampintsha recently expressed his desire to sue Apple Music for having removed his music from the platform following his alleged assault of Babes.