Award-winning music producer DJ Maphorisa allegedly grabbed actress Thuli Phongolo by her neck and dragged her to the balcony of her flat during an altercation on Sunday.
Born Sonnyboy Sekowe, the DJ spent the night at the Sandton police station and is expected to appear at the Randburg magistrate’s court on Monday.
He faces a charge of gender-based violence (GBV) for assaulting the actress, who is also his girlfriend.
The 29-year-old former TV presenter told the police that she had a squabble with the Ba Straata hitmaker after confronting him about an argument at a gig on Saturday night.
She said in a statement: “I confronted him so that we can talk about our argument, which happened the previous night during his gig.”
The actress said the acclaimed music producer responded aggressively and started slapping her on the face.
“He held me, took me to the balcony, and grabbed me aggressively by my neck,” Phongolo, who once starred in Generations: The Legacy as Namhla Diale, said.
The actress’ management team said she was with her road manager when she went to the police station to open a case of assault.
“We are still trying to gather how she is doing. I am seeing her in the next hour … We just need to actually figure out what is happening … She was with her road manager,” said Phongolo’s manager.
Maphorisa, who is also known as Phori, was allegedly arrested during the day after the Sandton police showed up at his house.
A source close to the case said the muso tried to get bail on the spot, but was denied.
“He is facing a serious charge of assault GBV and he can only get bail in court for that, so he has to stay behind bars overnight before he can get bail,” said the source.
Phongolo and Maphorisa have been dating on and off for close to two years.
Gauteng police spokesperson Mavela Masondo could not confirm that a case of assault has been opened at the time of publishing.
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