Tebogo Thobejane launches GBV foundation and reveals emotional struggle - ‘I'm not safe'

News24

2 days ago

South Africans have endured a week of explosive headlines and shocking revelations.
Leading the news is Vusumuzi 'Cat' Matlala, an alleged crime kingpin accused of trying to murder his ex-girlfriend, Tebogo Thobejane. He's also alleged to have corrupt relationships with government officials. These allegations have rocked the entire nation.
On Friday, July 11, 2025, Matlala and his co-accused appeared in the Alexandra Magistrate's Court to face more charges in his case that's been postponed to August.
In a candid interview with Drum, Tebogo Thobejane revealed how the incident has devastated her mental health. Despite Matlala being behind bars, she admitted she still doesn't feel safe.
Read more | Tebogo Thobejane pleas for privacy as ex-boyfriend's attempted murder bail hearing postponed
In October 2023, Tebogo survived what she alleges was an assassination attempt by Vusumuzi 'Cat' Matlala. The attack occurred while she and a friend were driving on the N1 highway near Sandton, Johannesburg. Their car was riddled with bullets, leaving Thobejane shot in the foot and her friend with a serious spinal cord injury.
Thobejane says she's not the same person she was before the incident. She can barely recognise her own emotions anymore and often feels numb. Without any support system in place, she's struggling to cope with the trauma alone.
'I don't know how I'm feeling honestly, and there's still no one supporting me, not even the government and what's annoying me at this point is that I've seen all these men protecting themselves but have no time to check in with us, the victims, as to how we're doing, and the sad part is that we can't even go into witness protection because the police are involved,' she said.
She recently launched her Bothlale Foundation (meaning 'wisdom'), a foundation dedicated to helping GBV survivors and victims. Her inspiration for this work stems from her desire to support others who have endured similar experiences.
'I've had a hard life, and they've tried to silence me.'
When asked about her case against ex-partner Vusi Matlala, she declined to share details, citing ongoing court proceedings. What she did make clear: she is proud of standing up for herself.
'I can't engage on that because of the ongoing court case, but all I can say is that I stood my ground and everyone saw that this guy is crazy,' she said.
Read more | Wife of attempted murder accused Vusi Matlala released on R20,000 bail in Tebogo Thobejane case; husband remains in custody
She believes that the day she and her friend were shot at has profoundly altered the course of her life.
'She was sitting next to me in the car when they shot my car, and the bullets went to her. That girl saved my life, and, sadly, hers got completely ruined.'
Asked about her optimism in justice prevailing in her case, Tebogo sounded confident that the law will take its course and that she will get the justice she deserves with her case.
However, she can't shake away the feeling that her case is being used as a pawn for what Lt-General Mkhwanazi exposed about her ex-partner and his affiliations with the SAPS officials.
'I know justice will prevail, but at the same time, there's a bigger picture here, and I think I'm being used as a mockery. I just feel like people are running a mockery, and it's deeper than me. He's in much bigger trouble, but my case is the one that got him arrested, and then they found out about everything else that's just been revealed, which I don't know anything about,' she says.
Tebogo shared that due to the incident, her mental well-being isn't in a good place and that despite the perpetrator's incarceration, she still doesn't feel safe at all.
'My mental health isn't well, I'm not safe, the government is not protecting me, nobody cares about me, and every single day I pay for private security, but what gets me is that everybody, that is the cops, they're protected but not us,' she iterated.
Read more | Murder-accused Vusumuzi 'Cat' Matlala found in possession of a cell phone during a prison raid
Thobejane believes that there's more that SAPS could do to protect her.
'They say their protocols don't allow that, so I need to have private security. They're busy fighting amongst themselves, not concerned about the victims lingering in the background.'
Thobejane says that all the misconceptions people have about her are not true.
'People say that I'm doing and selling drugs, and that I'm dodgy, which is not the case. We got shot at, and people need to focus on that,' she tells Drum.
Tebogo concluded by sharing a message to people who are in abusive relationships, saying that her foundation (Bothlale Foundation) is a safe space they can go to, as it's all about empowering each other.
'Nothing's linear, as you can't tell someone what to and not to do, and this is why I started the foundation, it's a space people can run to without judgment.'
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