Thembinkosi Lorch faces sentencing after he was found guilty by the Randburg magistrate court yesterday of assaulting Fundiswa Nokuphiwa Mathithibala with intent to cause severe bodily harm, in September 2020.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Nokuphiwa who was then dating the Orlando Pirates midfielder, had opened the case against the soccer player in September 2020.
The NPA shared a statement of the verdict on their social media, captioning the post:
“Soccer star Thembinkosi Lorch has been found guilty of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, by the Randburg Magistrates’ Court.”
The NPA statement details the incident as follows:
“Fundiswa Nokuphiwa Mathithibala said she was visiting Lorch when he left her at his home to go out with his friends. Mathithibala saw that it was getting late and messaged him to return her car keys. On arrival, an argument ensued and Lorch became violent towards her and started to strangle her, beat her whilst pulling her up and down. She called for help and his friend came to her rescue.”
Touching on the evidence that led to a guilty verdict, the NPA statement shared:
“State prosecutor, Ms Michele Hart argued that the medical evidence corroborated the evidence of the complainant. The accused did not have any injuries which meant that he was the aggressor. The accused and his witness did not create a good impression in court and appeared to be not credible witnesses.”
Soccer star Thembinkosi Lorch has been found guilty of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, by the Randburg Magistrates’ Court. pic.twitter.com/3wmEAVyq8v
— NPASouthAfrica (@NPA_Prosecutes) June 6, 2023
The case is set to commence sentencing proceedings on 28 July 2023.
A joyful Nokuphiwo Mathithibala penned a message on her social media sharing her relief at the case being finalized and thanking her friend for supporting her.
She captioned her post, “Being born and bred in the rural areas doesn’t define your level of intelligence, wisdom and strength God has given you along with your ancestors…let them undermine you and honesty to lead you. Kuthi khuuu, ibinde lendlela, ndithi enkosi (I’m breathing a sigh of relief, this has been a long road for me, thank you) ?♀️ @lacosteplg thank you my sister for your consistent love and support ♥️I love you.”
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