by Thinus Ferreira
Shock and scandal is swirling around the Expresso presenter Katlego Maboe on SABC3, also known as the face of countless Outsurance "Chencha Daideng!" TV commercials, who has confessed to cheating on his partner with an Outsurance employee which resulted in his partner allegedly getting a sexually transmitted disease (STD).
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Following the release of a shocking and lurid video on social media on Thursday night that quickly went viral with thousands of views and comments from South Africans, Katlego Maboe who've won SAFTA awards as Best TV presenter, posted a statement on Twitter admitting to having cheated on his partner and that they are separating because of it.
"Truth: I was unfaithful to my partner during a very important time of our lives - an act I regret to this day. We are currently undergoing an unfortunate and painful separation which is being resolved through legal proceedings," Katlego Maboe said.
"As you can imagine, separations are quite a difficult thing to deal with, especially with a child involved. In light of the comments made against me, I would like to state that I have never abused my partner."
"I have always and will always stand up against the abuse of women and children - in fact, the abuse of anyone for that matter. I had chosen to deal with this matter privately to protect and safeguard our child. At the end of the day, our child is all that matters to me."
"However, I will leave this to the legal system and let the truth have its day," Katlego Maboe said.
In the shocking video, Katlego Maboe confesses his infidelity to his partner who confronts him and records him and asks him who he has had sex with. Eventually he tells her, after his wife tells him that he might never see their son again.
Katlego Maboe mentions the name of a woman who works at Outsurance in Cape Town and admits that he had sex with her at a hotel but that it only happened once.
Katlego Maboe's partner in the video alleges that Katlego Maboe gave her a sexually-transmitted disease (STD) that has damaged her womb, affecting the chances of her having another child.
On Friday morning Katlego Maboe was absent from Expresso's Cape Town studios in Tokai with Friday's edition that was anchored by Graeme Richards, Ryle DeMorny, Jamie-Lee Domburg and Thabiso Makhubela but it's not clear whether he was slated to be on as one of group of rotating presenters of the weekday morning show produced by Cardova Productions.
Following his cheating scandal it's not yet clear whether Katlego Maboe is getting dropped as an Expresso presenter or if he will be temporarily removed from his on-screen role.
SABC3 as well as Expresso, through its PR agency The Platinum Club, were asked in late-night media enquiries for comment which will be added here once received.
Outsurance was also asked in a late-night media enquiry on Thursday night for comment about Katlego Maboe and the video that trended on Thursday night.
Outsurance was also asked whether Outsurance is removing the TV commercials and campaign in which he appears and whether Outsurance will continue to use him in its TV commercials. Comment from Outsurance will be added here once it's received.
UPDATE Friday 23 October 2020 07:48: Katlego Maboe made his first appearance on Expresso at 07:43 on Friday morning in a pre-recorded Halloween arts and crafts segment, adding a "black eye" and saying "I don't know what I'm doing".
UPDATE Friday 23 October 2020 09:36: SABC3 in a statement tells TVwithThinus "We have been made aware of the issue regarding Katlego Maboe. However, Cardova, the production house is handling the matter following their internal processes. Notwithstanding, the SABC as a responsible broadcaster stands firm and remains committed to the fight against gender-based violence (GBV)".
UPDATE Friday 23 October 2020 09:49: Fabrizia Degli Esposti, Katlego Maboe's publicist, says "The allegations made against Katlego Maboe are false and are an attempt by his former partner to harass and victimise him in order to cause emotional harm, as well as reputational and economic damage. The matter is currently being litigated and is therefore sub-judice, and accordingly he cannot comment further as to do so would potentially be undermining the court's process. Katlego Maboe kindly asks for privacy at this time."
UPDATE Friday 23 October 2020 10:06: Cardova Productions in a statement tells TVwithThinus that Katlego Maboe has been removed from Expresso pending an internal investigation and that the SABC3 morning show "condemns any acts of violence and mistreatment, especially against women and children and take such allegations very seriously".
"Certain serious allegations have been posted on social media about Katlego Maboe and, last night, a video was leaked showing Katlego Maboe
seemingly admitting to cheating on his partner. We have been informed that
a legal process relating to the allegations is currently sub-judice."
"We condemn any acts of violence and mistreatment, especially against
women and children, and therefore take such allegations
very seriously. Until such time as the matter has been fully investigated, and pending
the outcome, Katlego Maboe will not be appearing on The Expresso Morning
Show."
UPDATE Friday 23 October 2020 10:51: Natasha
Kawulesar, Outsurance spokesperson, tells TVwithThinus that it is removing all
Outsurance TV commercials with Katlego Maboe immediately as soon as possible.
“We are aware of the issue surrounding Katlego
Maboe and have engaged with him on this. We want to provide Katlego and his
family the time and space to deal with this private situation. In the
meantime, we will be removing all advertisements featuring Katlego as soon as
practically possible.”
