Popular Mommy Club season 3 cast member Pheladi Madungandaba has been accused by her ex-husband of duping him into marrying her after lying about the paternity of their child.
Madungandaba, who stunned the viewers of the show when she revealed that she walked out of her matrimony empty-handed, after she divorced her then-husband, a Pretoria businessman, in March 2022, after entering into a shotgun marriage with him in 2016.
After the divorce, Madungandaba told one of their children that the businessman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, was not her father.
She once allegedly took the child to a cemetery and showed the kid a grave of a man she claimed was her biological father who “was shot and killed by a bad man”.
The hair-raising titbits are contained in a cease and desist letter sent to Madungandaba by her ex-husband’s lawyers, Johan van de Vyver Attorneys, in which they are warning her to refrain from poisoning the child’s well-being with such allegations.
“We further confirm that you were formerly married to our client, which marriage was dissolved by an order of court on March 24, 2022,” reads the letter.
“Our instructions are to convey the following to you (that) the minor child, with identity number … was born on…, whereas the marriage between yourself and our client was contracted on December 22, 2016.
“At the time that the marriage was contracted, you were pregnant with the aforesaid minor child.
“Our client instructs us that on Monday, November 14, 2022, after a visitation to yourself, (name withheld) informed our client that ‘she had been to visit the grave of her other daddy, who was shot and killed by a bad man’.”
The lawyers further stated that Madungandaba’s ex-husband was deeply perturbed because the same allegations that he was not the biological father of the said spawn were repeatedly made in the past by her acquaintances.
“The aforesaid allegations imply that you had wilfully misled our client into believing that he is the biological father of (name withheld).
“Similarly, you had, by the aforesaid misrepresentation, coerced our client into entering into a marriage relationship with you.
“Given the age and level of maturity of (name withheld), it is extremely emotionally distressing for her to visit a grave and be told that she has another father, other than our client, and our client would request that you immediately cease your communication and conduct in this regard,” reads the letter.
The lawyers also warned Madungandaba that it was not in the interest of the child to be provided with such conflicting information regarding her paternity, which causes uncertainty and insecurity, at a very sensitive age.
“In view of the afore going, our client requires you to immediately desist from such conduct and provide a written
undertaking that you will not discuss paternity with (name withheld) given her age and level of maturity,” reads the letter.
The lawyers also stated that the businessman may demand paternity tests at a later stage.
“Our client’s rights in respect of a paternity dispute and appropriate tests to determine the same are hereby reserved in toto,” read the letter.
But a source who is close to the ex-couple indicated that Madungandaba’s husband pushed for paternity tests but abandoned the idea because of the bond he has with the child.
The deep throat said Madungandaba’s husband obtained information from their associates that the social media influencer claimed that a certain Vusimuzi Shaba was the biological father of their child.
This, said the mole, worried him because when they rekindled their love after a brief breakup, Madungandaba was pregnant. At the time, she told him that the expected child was the sum of their biological bar codes. She also told him that during their breakup, she had not engaged in any horizontal bedroom gymnastics with anyone else.
Because he loved her to bits, he accepted her explanation and proceeded to tie the knot with her to make sure that the child was not born out of wedlock.
“But after their breakup, Pheladi informed her friends that Shaba was the father of the child and that she had tricked [her then husband] into believing that he was the father.” The source said the businessman told them he was initially emotional and felt that Pheladi duped him into marrying her.
The tipster said the ex-husband demanded the tests in June 2022, but later changed his mind because of the bond he has with the child.
“He said after extensive reflection, he made peace with Pheladi’s allegation and concluded that he is the child’s father. They have developed a close relationship, and the child makes him happy,” said the source.
The mole further said he opined that the child would be badly affected by the paternity tests. Also, said the source, the tests, if they come back negative, will have unintended repercussions on their other children.
