Renowned television actress and radio newsreader Vatiswa Ndara has opened a case of crimen injuria and defamation against an online entertainment writer who alleges she attempted to commit suicide after a bad sexual experience at the SABC.
Ndara pressed charges against the writer of Celeb Gossip at the Midrand police station, north of Johannesburg, last week after accusing him of fabricating slanderous allegations about her.
A police officer, who did not want to be named because he is not allowed speak to the media, said Ndara, who released a book titled Unfiltered, which chronicles her life and career as television actress, said the writer deliberately distorted the facts with the aim to caricature her.
In one of the chapters in the book, said the cop, the former Muvhango actress narrates a story about an incident in which she was sexually harassed by a male employee at the SABC. The talented thespian said she was overwhelmed by the violation and tried to kill herself afterwards.
Says Ndara in an extract from the book: “I knew this was going to do it, there was no way I was going to survive with all these pills and everything I drank. I remember that day I cleaned the house, I cleaned before I did all these so at least people [would] come to a clean place.”
But the news site appeared to have distorted the facts and said the former Generations actress tried to commit hara-kiri after bad “TLof TLof” (colloquial term for sex) at the public broadcaster.
“She never had bad sex with anyone. This person has in the name of journalism or freedom of speech, peddled lies about her and must take full responsibility for his action. You cannot defame people in pursuit of wanting to build a large social media following or getting a lot of clicks,” the cop said.
In a police statement, which we have seen, Ndara said she received a WhatsApp message from a concerned friend saying Hlongwane had published on his site a story about the incident at the SABC that resulted in her wanting to end it all.
She said she found the allegations not only false but also “shaming her”.
“Miss VV Ndara (Vatiswa) has opened a case against celeb gossip news after she received a Whatsapp text on her phone from a friend telling her that the site published her sex incident at the SABC.
“The posts say she attempted to commit suicide after TLof TLof as mentioned in the statement, which she found to be shaming her. The publisher never confirmed or got permission to publish. A case will be investigated, and suspect traced for answers,” reads the police statement.
Ndara, who played Nomarussia in Mzansi Magic’s popular drama series, Igazi, ignored our phone calls and text message.
But Gauteng provincial police spokesperson Mavela Masondo confirmed Ndara pressed charges against the writer. “No arrest has been made and investigations are underway,” he said.
For the latest entertainment news from Sunday World, click here.
Or read the latest from Shwashwi here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
