Amapiano hitmaker DJ Maphorisa and actress Thuli Phongolo – who had a messy break up after she accused him of assault – are said to be back in each other’s arms.
Phongolo who was part of Generations: The Legacy, a popular soapie on SABC1, and Maphorisa, real name Themba Sekowe, are said to have been working on their fragile relationship secretly away from the prying eyes of the media and public after their messy break-up in 2023.
On Wednesday the couple were seen together sharing an intimate moment publicly. People close to the two told Sunday World that the celebrity couple were together when Phongolo was shooting her new music video at a location in Johannesburg.
It is understood that Phongolo called Maphorisa to lend her his favourite red BMW 325, popularly referred to as a Gusheshe, as a prop for her music video shoot.
“Thuli was about to shoot her music video, however, she pointed out that it would be great to have Maphorisa’s BMW as part of the shoot. She immediately phoned Maphorisa to come over with his ride, as she wanted to have the car featured in the video badly,” said our source.
Another insider said Maphorisa dropped everything he was doing and rushed to Phongolo’s rescue, and arrived at the location. He then stepped out of the car and gave her a warm hug.
“Phori waited patiently outside the venue of the shoot and chilled while Phongolo and her team were busy filming. It was so cool to see that side of Maphorisa after what had happened between him and Thuli.
“Thuli kept on telling us that she was glad that Phori came and that they were secretly back together.
“It is a great thing when people embrace love and iron out their issues.
“After the shoot, Thuli went to Maphorisa and hugged him while pecking his lips,” said the insider.
In May 2023, Maphorisa was arrested after Phongolo opened a criminal case claiming the Ba Straata hitmaker had assaulted her inside a Sandton apartment.
Phongolo claimed at the time that Maphorisa had slapped her badly and also alleged that he strangled her during a lovers’ tiff, in which she said that she sustained bruises on her arms, neck, and in one of her cheeks.
Maphorisa was arrested and appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court, and released on R4 000 bail.
Phongolo later withdrew the charges against him.
At the time, the couple released a joint statement saying they had resolved their impasse amicably.
“As it stands, both Phori and Thuli are happy again, and they have decided to keep their affection secret as they don’t want people to know that they are back together because they believe that they still love each other and that their unfortunate incident had caused drama for them.
“Now their intentional effort to bring back excitement and connection is burning, and you could see it by Phori’s actions when he brought his Gusheshe for the shoot of Thulli’s music video.
“We hope that this time around they will last and be happy forever,” the source said.
Reached for comment, Phongolo told the Sunday World she was at a salon and would only be able to comment at a later stage.
Questions sent to Maphorisa had still not been responded to at the time of going to print.
