Scorned women turn on playboy

Johannesburg - It could be a script from a drama that some of the characters are actors in.

A playboy leaves trail of broken hearts. When the body count mounts, the cast-off women turn on him. Accusations of lies, fraud, witchcraft, forced abortion, unpaid debt and even espionage fly.

The real-life drama that has been playing out in Gauteng’s suburbs over the past year involves flamboyant businessman Nico Matlala and a string of women who include former Generations actresses Winnie Ntshaba and Palesa Madisakwane, as well as a domestic worker, a personal assistant and businesswomen.

Matlala is the ex-fiancé of the musician Keabetswe “KB” Motsilanyane, whom he unceremoniously dumped a year ago.

City Press is in possession of voice recordings and WhatsApp messages between Matlala and the women in which accusations fly and vile language is used.

The 35-year old Matlala has interests in the construction and IT sectors, among others.

Palesa’s hurt

Matlala’s three-month whirlwind romance with former Gospel Gold presenter Madisakwane, who is currently a news anchor on ANN7, ended badly with accusations of witchcraft and insults flying all over the place.

Matlala seems to have created a rift between the two former Generations actresses soon after Madisakwane introduced him to Ntshaba for business purposes.

Speaking to City Press, Madisakwane, who hooked up with Matlala earlier this year and broke up with him at the end of June, said their whirlwind romance started going south when Matlala wanted them to move in together.

“Nico got angry with me because I told him that we should take things slowly. He wanted me to move in with my kids to his place and I refused,” she said.

Things got worse when she removed their pictures from Instagram.

“All hell broke loose and he dumped me. I cried as I didn’t want to move from one man to another, and I begged him not to do this.”

He accused her of leaking stories about him.

In one of the voice recordings, Matlala could be heard insulting Madisakwane referring to her private parts and also calling her a witch.

She said Matlala then “tried to make a move on Winnie” and set the pals on each other.

“He tried to cause a fight between me and Winnie. Nico told me that Winnie said this and that about me, and I became foolish and believed him. I wanted to hit back at my friend because I was defending myself from her as she wanted to destroy me, as per Nico’s lies,” she said.

In one recording, Madisakwane is heard telling Matlala that Ntshaba was a witch who had gone to a sangoma to try to bewitch her.

Questioned about this, Madisakwane said:

“It is not true that Winnie was bewitching me. I was hitting back because Nico told me that Winnie had told him that I was a witch aiming to bewitch him.”

Madisakwane claims that Matlala had once asked her how much the Guptas were paying her as a news anchor and producer on ANN7, indicating that he wanted to borrow money.

Another contributor to their bad break-up was that she had told him to lose weight.

“He sent me that voice note swearing at me because I told him to lose weight as his body looked like that of a woman with hips.”

Madisakwane also claims that Matlala had impregnated his PA – a young woman from Newcastle. She said he had told her to abort and given her R1 500 to take the next bus to Newcastle.

She also alleges that he had an affair with a helper “and when people found out, he chased her away”.

Matlala categorically denies all of this.

We were played by a small boy

Ntshaba backed Madisakwane’s story.

“We were being played here. He would tell me this about Palesa, and thereafter, off he went to tell Palesa things about me. We can’t allow a small boy to come here and want us to fight over him, as that would never happen; we are grown women in our forties. We can’t allow our names, which we worked hard for, to be dragged through the mud like this, not now and not ever,” she said.

Gauteng businesswoman Phumzile Shezi, who once lived with Matlala at the luxury Midstream Estate in Centurion, said Matlala exaggerated his wealth and claimed that she had financed his lifestyle.

Among other things, she claimed that she paid rent for the Midstream Estate house and had registered her Land Rover in his name as she didn’t have a driver’s licence. She said some of the cars Matlala posted on social media belonged to his dates.

“I left my husband for him after he sweet-talked me. I left Nico when he demanded R50 000 from me,” said Shezi.

Another woman who found love and then pain after crossing paths with Matlala is entrepreneur Palesa Mthembu.

“We were in business together and later we dated,” said Mthembu.

Things soured when Matlala sold her a Mini Cooper for R70 000, for which she paid cash.

“I was not aware that the car was not his [until] the woman who owned it took it [back]. I couldn’t open the case as I felt that he would use information against me. He disappeared with my money in April,” she said.

Another woman who broke up with Matlala after a business and personal relationship went awry refused to comment. In the voice recordings, it emerged that she lost R500 000 after Matlala advised her to visit a sangoma to fortify herself against another business partner, who allegedly wanted to kill her.

“I am not going to talk about Nico and that’s my comment,” she said.

Two minutes later, Matlala phoned City Press and put the woman on a conference call in which he denied that he and the woman were fighting and insisted they were still business partners.

“The problem is that those women you are talking to gang up against me because they want to destroy me,” he said.

The woman declined to comment further.

Pretoria businesswoman Pinky Maredi said she had met Matlala on the highway in February, “and in the second week he invited me to his house”. In March, he borrowed R60 000, saying someone was suing him.

“He paid me R20 000 and I am speaking to my lawyers to get my remaining R40 000. He tried to make a move on me and I told him to back off.”

Matlala hits back

An angry Matlala warned that if he exposed the secrets of Ntshaba, Shezi, Madisakwane, Mthembu and Tutu, “they will all end up in jail”.

“If they want to take me down, I will reveal everything about their shady businesses. I have submitted everything to my lawyer as I have realised that I am dealing with bitter women... I will reveal all their dirt as they are shady as hell,” he said.

Matlala admitted that he dated Mthembu and had been in business with her, but said “she had issues when she heard that I am also dating Phumzile”. He denied receiving any money from her and said he secured her a car and a driver’s licence. He said he paid for Ntshaba’s groceries and DStv “because she is broke” and had given her his BMW to drive when her car’s air bags “blew up”.

“I slept with Winnie at my house. Everything is recorded and I will reveal them once they try to outsmart me,” he said.

Regarding his relationship with his PA, he said she “was a spy in my house and she colluded with Phumzile to destroy me”.

He said he kicked her out of his house “after she slept with some guy who is a dancer” and fell pregnant. Matlala accused Maredi of being “another one who is bitter”, admitting that they had a forex business together. He challenged all the women “to make a list of everything they want and I will pay them”.

New love in his life

Matlala is now dating Lebohang Mabe, the ex-girlfriend of celebrity stylist Shaun Stylist.

“I can confirm that I am now dating Lebohang,” he said.

War of words

‘You see now you coming with sh*t, Palesa, because I see you don’t have brakes. Don’t come here and talk p*ssy and sh*t. If you’re here sh*tting and busy talking p*ssy, I am not f*cken afraid of you. I will f*cken embarrass your f*cken ass. They told me about your life, that you are a witch. If I dumped you, I dumped you, jou moersk*nt. Don’t be forward, you motherf*cker.’ - Voice note from Nico Matlala to Palesa Madisakwane 

‘It’s okay Nico, you insulted me because of sh*t and my p*ssy, which we had fun with. It’s fine, I am at peace and may God be with you. If I bewitch people, I bewitch through prayer, so may God bless you.’ - Voice note of Palesa Madisakwane to Nico Matlala 

‘I won’t say good morning, because I don’t know what is good about this morning. I am gonna say a few words to you, Winnie. I put it to you that I won’t work with a person like you, because you are an evil person. Ungalinge ungijwayele amasimba. I will expose your ass. I f*cken paid your DStv and groceries. The way you were talking about me, I will f*cken destroy you. N*gga, you don’t know me like that. Don’t f*ck with me. It’s not my fault that you are broke. Make your shit, your shit.’ - Voice note from Nico Matlala to Winnie Ntshaba 

‘You must remember the deal we had. I only gave you the job because you said your mother works for the department of transport and she was going to give us tenders. You planted people to spy on me and you worked with helper to destroy me.’ - Voice note from Nico Matlala to the pregnant PA, Tutu 

‘You know what is sad about you, Phumzile, you have lied that I am broke. You go around telling people that you bought a car, which I bought myself. Sies, Phumzile, you gave birth at the public hospital hiding at the corner so that people won’t see you. You are busy crying for my car, sies.’ - Voice note of Nico Matlala to Phumzile Shezi. 

‘Listen sister mthakathi [witch], I think it’s about time for me to teach you a lesson. It’s on as you thought that I was afraid of you, wena social media marketing sgubhu, you have been telling people that you bought a house and a car, lies.’ - Voice note of Nico Matlala to Phumzile Shezi 

TALK TO US

Have you ever been the victim of a serial dater? If so, how did it leave you feeling and how did you get over it?

SMS us on 35697 using the keyword CHEAT and tell us what you think. Please include your name and province. SMSes cost R1.50