Actress Khanyi Mbau’s boyfriend Tebogo Lerole has been arrested for claiming that his friend and popular blesser, Serge “The International Blesser” Cabonge, has contracted the coronavirus.
Lerole, a musician and member of the pennywhistle ensemble Kwela Tebza, was arrested by Sandton police on Thursday and released on R1 000 bail the same day.
He will appear in the Randburg magistrate’s court on June 30 for breaking COVID-19 regulations which, among others, criminalise misinformation.
Attempts to solicit comment from Lerole drew a blank as he ignored phone calls and text messages.
Cabonge confirmed that the award-winning artist was arrested after he opened a case against him and that their bromance had petered out.
He also said he had already spoken to his legal team and was girding his loins to create legal dust for Lerole.
Relating his ordeal to Sunday World, Cabonge said that he was admitted to Netcare Sunninghill Hospital with a bad cough on March 29.
He said after undergoing a battery of tests, his doctor discovered that he had a blood infection, which they treated.
Cabonge also said the doctor ad¬vised him to get tested for COVID-19, which as of yesterday had killed 25 South Africans and infected 2 028.
The businessman said he was languishing in hospital when Lerole video-called him under the pretext that he was checking up on him.
“Little did I know that he was screen-grabbing pictures of our video call, which he circulated on social media, saying that I have a coronavirus,” he said.
Cabonge said after their video call, he received a barrage of calls from friends who asked him why he had attended their recent parties while knowing that he had the coronavirus.
“When I told them that I didn’t know what they were talking about, they then sent me the pictures that Tebogo sent on social media.”
Cabonge explained that he phoned the Kwela Tebza member and asked him why he had done that to him and Lerole lied, saying he wanted to amass public sympathy for the businessman.
“I told him that what he did was wrong because people are now going to stigmatise me and this thing will destroy my busi¬ness. I asked him to apologise and retract his statement but he refused and said he would not apologise to me because I am a foreigner.”
Cabonge explained further: “When my tests came back negative, I went to open a case against him. I never thought someone I considered a friend and a brother would do some¬thing like that to me.
“Even though he has been arrested for invading my priva¬cy and breaking the COVID-19 regulations, the damage he has done to my family and my business is immeasurable.”
