Social media influencer Mbali Sebapu, popularly known as Gorgeous Mbali, has obtained an interim protection order at the Randburg Magistrates court against two bloggers, Michelle Maboya and Botse Mabotja, whom she claims are harassing her.
In the papers that we have seen, she claims she came to know Maboya via Facebook, 10 years ago when her then-boyfriend dated her friend. Sebapu claims the bloggers started bullying her on the social media platform and tried to contact her to do business, but nothing materialized. In February this year, they met at an event where she formally introduced herself to her.
“Around the 11th of February 2023 I was a topic of a gossip blog Salty Entertainment on Instagram where I was humiliated via a post that claimed my current boyfriend is cheating with someone else they attached images of myself, my partner, and the other lady.”
She said a few days later another post surfaced about her on the same blog, this time targeting her company. “The third time I was targeted by her through another post that claims what are the chances my partner is spending his birthday with the other lady. The fourth time they posted an image where one of their followers claims she had searched her business details on the internet and she was not a director.”
One of the followers of the blog said they had the information from their workplace and reported back to the blog, as to who owns Sebapu’s vehicle since she had seen her registration number. The fifth post was about her illegally funding her business and she says they allegedly encouraged their audience to bully her and report her account for it to be taken down.
“It came to my attention that they were the ones operating this gossip site, and this was confirmed after she contacted a friend of mine stating that she is not afraid to deal with me or any politician. This threatening phone call to my friend was to shut me up and intimidate me as this blog modus operandi is to threaten and blackmail politicians and business owners with personal gossip. I suspect that she is afraid that I will mention her involvement in this extortion scheme of theirs,” read the papers.
Sebapu filed for an urgent application because she states she fears for her safety. She said through her endeavours to respond to the social media attacks she identified who was behind this scheme.
When called for comment Sebapu said she could not comment on the matter as it involves her family’s lives.
Mabotja said she could not comment on the matter because the terms and conditions of the protection order prohibit her from saying anything about Sebapu.
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