From Rape Accusation to Vindication: The Tol A$$ Mo Story
In this episode of The Carol
Ofori Podcast, Carol has an intimate, honest and sometimes unsettling
conversation with former reality TV star couple, Mongezi ‘Tol A$$ Mo’ Mahlangu
and his wife, Mome.
I was not aware that I was suffering from mental illness during the time of doing all these interviews, you know, I was not aware that I was in a stage whereby I had lost sense of reality, sense of peace and calm of myself. I was just furious.
Top South African comedian Tol A$$ Mo and his wife Mome hold nothing back in this brave and unreserved conversation on The Carol Ofori Podcast.
Tol A$$ Mo was accused of rape by model Lerato Moloi in 2020 and then cleared of all charges in August 2022.
“I was not even just acquitted. I was vindicated. I was proven completely innocent in the court of law. And it was found that [Lerato] lied about the entire incident,” Tol A$$ Mo explains.
Speaking to Carol Ofori, the couple openly discusses Tol A$$ Mo's tumultuous journey through the false rape accusation and his subsequent mental health struggles, as well as the impact on his career and personal life.
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The couple also shares personal insights into their experiences during the trial, the challenges to their marriage, and Tol A$$ Mo's controversial statements.
Tol A$$ Mo also acknowledges and apologises for the damage he potentially did to some of the relationships with close friends and colleagues in the industry.
“Lerato Kganyago, I really sincerely apologise to this sister. She's such an amazing woman. And she messaged me because she was worried about me. She was really reaching out in a sense of ... she cares.”
Tol A$$ Mo also apologises to good friends and fellow comedians, Skhumba Hlophe and Mpho Popps as well as media personality Somizi and PH Madubela, also known as DJ PH.
She has to go to jail. With the false charges that she had laid against me I was going to get 35 years to life. And it really scared me when they were reading the verdict because they tell you what the sentence is for such a heinous crime.
“My mental state was not in the right frame of mind for me to understand the kind of advice he [Somizi] was trying to give me ... and at that point in time, it was actually him trying to save me.”
Mome says she told Tol A$$ Mo back in 2020 that it would take five years for everything to settle down.
“I remember saying to Mo in 2020, I said this is going to take five years, so I’m gonna need you to be strong for the next five years because there’s gonna be a lot, but give it five years, I’m telling you, the fifth year will be the year you say it is done now.”
Listen to the full interview at the top of the page, or below.
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Meanwhile, in an earlier episode of The Carol Ofori Podcast, Carol had a conversation with author and Google’s Country Director in South Africa, Dr Alistair Mokoena that will change the dialogue you have with yourself and enable you to reframe negative thoughts as ‘fuel’. Dr Mokoena explains the importance of celebrating every success along the way, instead of waiting for the ‘big victories’ as we need the small wins to keep us motivated.
If you’d like to suggest a topic for The Carol Ofori Podcast, please email Carol’s producer, Rory, at [email protected].
Listen to more episodes from The Carol Ofori Podcast below:
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