Staff Reporter
Those who make false, hurtful and defamatory statements on social media derail rather than support the noble agenda against gender-based violence (GBV), according to DF Fresh.
Speaking shortly after his victory against poet Ntsiki Mazwai at the Joburg High Court, Fresh, real name Thato Sikwane, said that the battle against abuse takes many steps back when innocent people are falsely accused.
This follows Sunday World’s report over the weekend that Mazwai posted on her social media platforms that DJ Fresh was a rapist.
She was reacting to social media posts by Lebyane, who claimed that her ex-boyfriend, whose name she did not reveal, abused her and another post by Swazi, in which she alleged Fresh “forced himself on her” at a club in Montecasino, Fourways, about 17 years ago.
In a lengthy statement, Sikwane said as someone who has been in the entertainment industry for over two decades, he has strived to serve as a voice for, and ally of, the unheard and disaffected.
“I know also, that as a man I can never presume to fully understand the physical and psychological impact of Gender Based Violence (GBV) on women. However, as a son, husband and father, I feel strongly motivated to stand against GBV in every form,” he said.
On Tuesday the Joburg High Court ruled in Sikwane’s favour, ordering Mazwai against making defamatory statements against him.
“In the recent example of my quest to ensure the facts were honoured, Ntsiki Mazwai was contacted by my legal team and asked to remove her unsubstantiated posts. She declined to do so. The matter was escalated as the information posted was not only false, it was significantly, personally harmful and hurtful to me and my family.
“I rarely respond to false accusations because often in doing so, it provides the perpetrator with a sense of legitimacy. However, for someone to post something so damaging – especially as it is directly subverts my work on behalf of a cause so close to my heart – I felt moved to take a public stand,” he said the statement.
“I would certainly have wished for this matter to be settled in a better and more private manner, however, when the falsehoods were not rescinded, I felt my only option was to take it before the due diligence of our court system,” he said.
