Thami Dish denies being an ‘enabler of abuse’ after Mohale’s tell-all special

After being named in Mohale Motaung’s tell-all Showmax special regarding his marriage to Somizi Mhlongo and the alleged abuse he endured, Queer rights activist and media personality Thami Dish issued a statement to tell his side of the story. 

Thami Dish (real name Thami Kotlolo) said that he would have appreciated being given a right of reply due to the fact that he was painted as one of the people who was complicit in Mohale’s abuse. 

“While I applaud Mr Motaung for speaking out, I would have preferred to be afforded a right of reply in the instances where my name is implicated, especially as an enabler of abuse.

“This goes against everything I stand for as evidenced by the work I do in this regard,” said Thami. 

Mohale’s tell-all Showmax special, titled Mohale: On The Record used archival footage from an earlier season of Somizi’s reality show to show just how involved Thami DIsh was in the pair’s relationship in his capacity as one of Somizi’s friends at the time.

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While Living The Dream With Somizi never aired any content relating to the physical abuse Mohale endured, the show documented the disagreements the pair had, namely about Somizi’s dalliance with a soccer player who was also featured on the show.

Mohale’s special used footage of Thami commenting on certain things he observed during that period. 

“While I would have facilitated a meeting between the two parties at my house following an altercation, it would have been purely for the purposes of having both parties share their side of the story from their perspective; at no point was a suggestion made by myself that Mr Motaung returns to a home or relationship where there was ongoing abuse, and he knows this.”

Thami then concluded by addressing the production team responsible for the show and said “production companies and broadcasters should make the effort to be especially careful and responsible in their protrayal of these stories. These are people’s lives and livelihoods and not just mere sensational dramas with which to make more money.” 

His statement comes after leaked audio of a telephone conversation between Thami and one of Somizi’s other friends in which the person alleged to be Thami said Somizi is getting everything he deserves. 

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