Johannesburg- SA’s most sought-after motivational speaker Vusi Thembekwayo has been accused of slapping his wife several times and dragging her by her feet on the stairway during a violent domestic fight at their posh Joburg home on Saturday night.
The alleged assault occurred on December 4, 10 days into the annual global campaign of 16 Days of Activism Against Women and Children Abuse.
Thembekwayo’s wife has opened a case of common assault against the 36-year-old businessman at the Douglasdale police station.
He was arrested and released on bail on Monday.
He appeared briefly in the Randburg magistrate’s court on Wednesday and the case was postponed to next year.
Sunday World understands that the case is likely to be converted to assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm once the prosecutor has received the medical report on Thembekwayo’s wife detailing the nature and severity of her injuries.
According to a police statement, he arrived at their matrimonial home, found her sleeping in the upper level and woke her up.
“He woke her up and instructed her to pack and go. She refused and an argument ensued. He pulled her by the legs off the bed, slapped her several times, dragged her down the stairs, loaded her bags in the car and forced her in the car,” reads the statement.
The statement further states that as they were driving, Thembekwayo took the road to Midrand, situated a few kilometres from their home. When they stopped at the traffic lights near Crowthorne, Midrand, she jumped out of the vehicle and ran away.
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Gauteng provincial police spokesperson Mavela Masondo confirmed that Thembekwayo was arrested for common assault and appeared in the Randburg magistrate’s court on Wednesday. The case was postponed to next year.
“Investigations are continuing,” said Masondo.
A police officer who does not want to be named because he is not allowed to speak to the media said Thembekwayo told police he had left South Africa for Kenya on a business trip and was supposed to travel to Dubai, but cancelled the trip because of the travel ban on South Africans due to the Omicron Covid-19 variant.
When he arrived at their Dainfern home, he said, he allegedly found his wife drunk, and that angered him.
The cop said an argument erupted between the two and Thembekwayo allegedly packed her bags and chased her out of their marital pad. He denied he assaulted her.
Last year, Thembekwayo penned an open letter to South African men, admonishing them for abusing their partners.
“We are all guilty. To deal with this guilt, we must name and shame the abuser and his supporters. We name and shame the ecosystem of complicity that allows abuse to continue,” he wrote.
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“We must name and shame the family members, aunts and uncles, friends and colleagues that negotiate women back into abusive relationships. Abuse only exists when society allows it to hide in the shadows. Today, shine a light wherever you find that abuse.”
Thembekwayo is regarded as one of the richest entrepreneurs in the country.
He is the founding CEO of MyGrowthFund.
When contacted for comment, Thembekwayo denied that he was arrested. “I was not even here over the weekend,” he said.
However, his lawyers later sent a statement admitting that he appeared in court on Wednesday but denied that he assaulted his wife.
“Please, however, note that our client wishes to place on record that his wife has a history of substance abuse, having overdosed on more than one occasion and being admitted to a centre for help in this regard by Mr Thembekwayo and her sister.” read the statement.
Thembekwayo also released the below statement on social media:
https://twitter.com/VusiThembekwayo/status/1469776829473038339?s=20
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