by Thinus Ferreira
Crying and wiping tears away in an interview in front of the cameras and broadcast early on Monday morning, the disgraced presenter Katlego Maboe now returning to SABC3's Expresso, revealed that he had suicidal thoughts, saying he had "thought the darkest thoughts".
Katlego Maboe became embroiled in a cheating scandal in October 2020 when a video surfaced in which he admitted to his girlfriend and mother of his son, Monique Muller that he had cheated on her and had sex with another woman.
Monique Muller alleged that Katlego Maboe gave her a sexually-transmitted disease (STD) and "damaged her womb", affecting the chances of her having another child, and had "physically attacked" her.
After that Katlego Maboe lost his work at Cardova TV and disappeared from television, including TV commercials, following his infidelity scandal, with Monique Muller who got a protection order against Maboe.
Monique Muller who made claims of domestic abuse, sought to make the protection order permanent, but in January 2022 the magistrate set the protection order aside.
It's still unclear if the SABC, which was asked, will be doing an interview with Monique Muller on Expresso on SABC3 as well for the same time duration to tell her side of the story, with comment which will be added here if received.
Meanwhile, the gender-based violence NGO Women for Change slammed SABC3 and Expresso for reappointing Katlego Maboe as presenter, saying "This is how Expresso celebrates Women's Day" in an Instagram Story with the NGO which added that its legal battle against Katlego is still in court proceedings.
On Monday morning, Katlego Maboe got hugs on-air from Expresso presenters Ryle De Morny, Zoë Brown and Graeme Richards, with the edition which was short of specific questions about the scandal, and was framed around a redemption story and Katlego Maboe's growth and self-actualisation and what he has learnt from the situation he suddenly found himself in almost two years ago.
In the sit-down interview recorded on the Expresso-set in Tokai, Cape Town last week, Katlego Maboe said "I'm not perfect at all" and said "I just had to face myself and had to come to terms with that flawed person that I am".
"There was a moment where I thought the darkest thoughts and I don't want to belabour the point too much. I think everyone goes through their own individual trials and you think: 'But wouldn't it be better if it was just done?' and then my family wouldn't have to worry about having to call me every day."
