Generations: The Legacy actor Freedom Ngema was involved in an adulterous affair, and produced a love child with his mistress, a trailblazing radio presenter.
The revelations were made public by the popular actor in the court papers he filed in the Joburg High Court last week in which he is seeking a court order to force all of them to exercise their parental rights and responsibilities towards the child.
Ngema, who plays Mazwi in South Africa’s second-biggest soapie on SABC1, was the applicant in the suit while the former girlfriend, who cannot be named, was cited as the respondent.
In the court papers we have seen, Ngema revealed that he was engaged in an extramarital affair with the presenter and that she fell pregnant and gave birth to his child behind the back of his doting wife, Ntombenhle Angel “Angie” Gwala, whom he married under customary law in 2004.
He said the presenter entered the dalliance with him knowing very well that he was a married father of two.
During the period between 2019 and 2020, the respondent and I became romantically involved.
Ngema said the respondent fell pregnant and gave birth. At this juncture, I pause to indicate that during the time of my romantic involvement with the respondent, and at all material times thereafter, I was and presently am married to my wife (in terms of customary law), Ntombenhle Angel Gwala (Angie) since 2004 and permanently reside with her and three minor children.
“The respondent was fully aware of the foregoing prior to the commencement of our romantic involvement,”Ngema said in court papers.
After the child was born, he requested the presenter to consider a co-parenting arrangement with his wife so that their 22-month-old could have a “complete home”.
He said initially the former girlfriend was amenable to the idea, but things fell apart later when she started developing hatred towards him and his wife.
He said the hatred resulted in her denying him access to the child on its birthday.
He said their lawyers tried to resolve their differences but failed because she refused to sign the parenting plan. He also said the woman took unilateral decisions on matters involving the child and that at some stage she cut the child’s hair without notifying him.
“[She] unilaterally cut the minor child’s hair without consulting with me as agreed,” reads the affidavit.
The war between the two was so serious that the woman also applied for an urgent court interdict to suspend Ngema’s visitation rights until their co-parenting squabble was resolved as he was also allegedly abusive towards her.
In the court papers, which we have also seen, the woman said in one of their entanglements, Ngema sent her a long text message, and subjected her to abusive epithets after she protested about him bringing different women whenever he came to visit the child at her parental home in Ekurhuleni.
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