Cape Town — The #MeToo movement has inspired and encouraged women to come forward and call out influential people for sexual assault. The most high-profile case was from Hollywood, with film producer Harvey Weinstein accused by several actresses of rape and sexual assault in 2017.
Now a South Africa film-maker Khalo Matabane is under fire for making unwanted sexual advances, sexual assault and rape.
Palesa Letlaka
Letlaka, an award-winning film maker and director of South African commercials and fiction films, described a meeting that took place five years ago: "Do I really need to remind you of the sexual groping and subsequent sexual harassment you subjected me to after you bumped into me sitting alone? But then after your groping came weeks of late night and sexually explicit texts from you, calls to say I should come for a "f***' at your flat in Killarney. I told you over and over to stop disrespecting me, I kept reminding you that I'm your older sister and you need to knock it off. I asked you please to stop this but it clearly meant nothing to you. I eventually stopped taking your calls or responding to your texts."
Ingeborg Lichtenburg
Documentary film-maker Ingeborg Lichtenburg also gave her account, relating to a meeting 10 years ago at Ikhaya Lodge in Cape Town. "As soon as we had greeted, given each other friendly hugs, he tried to kiss me, but with an open mouth, basically trying to stick his tongue in my mouth. I immediately pulled away. Lichtenburg says the next day he called to apologise for his behaviour. He blamed it on the medication he was on.
Rosie Motene
Actress and businesswoman Rosie Motene said Matabane contacted through her LinkedIn account. She describes meetings with him as comfortable because she thought that he was gay. But that changed one day in Durban in 2012. Motene mentions that she went to his hotel room and watched inserts on his documentary. He sat on the bed and asked if she wanted to sit with him. The next day he said to her, "oh you're such a c**k teaser".
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Nico Athene
The Cape Town artist Athene tells of a meeting with Matabane when she was working in the industry, and trying to network for business opportunities. The meeting was in a restaurant, standard practice in the industry. Athene says Matabane made sexual advances towards her during the meeting.
Twitter user @iamzathemum says Matabane raped her when she worked at a Cape Town hotel during the Fifa 2010 World Cup.
Another allegation surfaced this week when Power FM host Aphele Somi shared on Twitter an account of another woman who says Matabane raped her after inviting her to his hotel room to look at his work in 2013.
Khalo Matabane has denied the allegations and says he is taking legal action against his accusers.
This report has been amended since first publication to state correctly Palesa Letlaka's professional status. The error is regretted.
