Fundiswa Nokuphiwa Mathithibala, the ex-girlfriend of Orlando Pirates player Thembinkosi Lorch, said she endured a lot of pain and humiliation after he assaulted her.
This was revealed by state witness Glad Mhlanga in the Randburg Magistrates Court on Monday, October 9, during the pre-judgement hearing of Lorch’s case.
Mhlanga testified that the assault incident had a negative impact on Nokuphiwa’s life and career. He said that Nokuphiwa lost her natural hair as a result of the trauma and had to wear wigs.
Mhlanga said that Nokuphiwa’s has been through a lot since their incident. She became withdrawn and isolated herself from others.
Nokuphiwa’s been taking medication to cope and sleep at night. The assault has affected her self-esteem and her performance at work.
Mhlanga added that the victim was fortunate to have the support of her manager.
According to him, Nokuphiwa had experienced emotional abuse and still had flashbacks of the assault.
Nokuphiwa said she was taking it one day at a time. She also said she had faced a lot of criticism and insults from people on social media platforms.
She said it is not easy for her but learnt to accept that this has happened.
“Everything is okay now, as there are no other options. The only option I have is to move forward,” Nokuphiwa said.
She said she had suffered a lot as people called her names on social media platforms.
“They don’t know what they were talking about. They have described me as a bad person through this matter,” she said.
Nokuphiwa said maybe they would have believed her if she had been killed.
