Somizi clears the air on paying Mohale’s legal costs in divorce dispute

The protracted “divorce” battle between Somizi Mhlongo and Mohale Motaung seems to have come to an end, and the celebrity choreographer and reality TV star says that he is grateful that the matter has been resolved. 

Earlier this week, reports emerged claiming that the reality star had “lost” his court case against his ex-husband as he was ordered to cover his legal fees in the matter. 

Political commentator and author Eusebius McKaiser posted the notice from Gauteng Local Division of the High Court of South Africa announcing Somizi’s withdrawal of his action as well as the fact that he agreed to cover Mohale’s legal costs. 

This "notice of withdrawal" means Somizi concedes: a) he was never in a valid marriage with Mohale; b) he was the one claiming they were married while Mohale had said customary law elements were not completed; c) that there's no joint estate, as Mohale had rightly said.

READ: pic.twitter.com/te72eLvvxj

— Eusebius McKaiser (@Eusebius) March 9, 2023

This caused a frenzy online amongst people who took the notice to mean that Somizi “lost” his case.

This clearly upset Somizi who posted a lengthy statement on his Instagram basically insisting that he had not lost. 

Clearing the air

“I wish to state the facts regarding the withdrawal of the divorce action as much of the information circulated is simply incorrect,” wrote Somizi. 

He then proceeded to highlight how he and Mohale were initially on the same page about entering into a valid customary marriage.

“It is indeed Mohale, who in the first correspondence between us, stated that a valid customary marriage was entered into and that we were married in community of property.”

Somizi then explained that it was on the basis if this view of their union that he instituted divorce proceedings as that is the only recognised way for a marriage to be dissolved. 

He added that he did not want the matter “to become protracted and acrimonious”.

“The decision to withdraw the divorce action comes after we were unable to reach an agreement regarding the existence of the marriage. We had initially agreed that a marriage existed but Mohale later claimed that no valid marriage had taken place.”

Somizi said that he has since accepted that no valid customary marriage was entered into after consulting with an expert and going back and forth with Mohale in an effort to end the marriage. 

Explaining why he became liable for Mohale’s legal costs, Somizi claimed that his decision to cover the costs, despite potentially not being liable for them was due to the fact that the dispute was in the early stages “and the legal costs were relatively small, which made pursuing the matter seem unproductive”. 

He concluded by insisting that there is no court order that compels him to pay these costs and the matter was never heard by a court nor was a ruling passed down. 

READ: This is why Somizi and Mohale weren’t legally married

“I am grateful that the matter has been resolved and that I can focus on the future. I hope that we can find a path towards healing and resolution.

What does Mohale have to say?

Although he has not yet issued a formal statement addressing the matter, Mohale did take a jab at Somizi on Twitter. 

Mohale’s friend, Peace Maphalu, congratulated him and asked: “Who are you sending the invoice to?! @mohale_motaung.”

Mohale simply replied with an image of Lelethi Khumalo in Sarafina – a film she starred in alongside Somizi where she played the titular role. 

Sarafina is also the nickname social media users have given Somizi to avoid mentioning him by name whenever they speak about him. 

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