TIMELINE | From accusation to ‘final’ verdict: Tol A** Mo vs Lerato Moloi

Earlier this month comedian Mongezi “Tol A** Mo” Mahlangu issued a public statement celebrating his acquittal on a rape charge.

In 2020, SA came to a standstill when model and actress Lerato Moloi alleged on Twitter she had been raped by the comedian in 2014.

Mongezi denied the allegation. However, the case dragged on for years before reaching a conclusion — which favoured Mongezi.

While the comedian has shared his feelings following the acquittal, Lerato has kept mum.

Attempts by TshisaLIVE to get comment from Lerato were unsuccessful at the time of publishing this article. The article will be updated if comment is received.

Here is a brief look at the timeline of the ordeal:

2020 — Lerato Moloi brings to light alleged sexual assault incident.

Learto alleged on Twitter the comedian had raped her in 2014 when they were working on a television production in Paarl, Western Cape.

Mongezi then got a protection order against her and she was ordered to remove the Twitter posts on social media, which she did no do, leading to her arrest.

A week after her arrest Lerato was instructed by her attorney to open a criminal case against Mongezi.  

Lerato later shared a statement on her Twitter timeline, saying she had chosen to speak about the alleged incident as it was part of her healing process. 

“In seeking to fully heal and move forward from these traumas. I shared a bit of my violent experiences on social media in June 2020. As a result, my coming out and finding my voice has been met with attempts to silence me,” read the statement.

2022 — Tol A** Mo gets acquitted and takes legal action against Lerato Moloi.

At the end of July Specialist Security Services were contacted by Mongesi and his wife requesting assistance with regards to the alleged rape case opened by Lerato asking that the matter be investigated.

Mongezi then underwent a forensic polygraph test before they took up his case.

“Mr Mahlangu showed no deception on his polygraph test, which is an indication that he was telling the truth according to our investigation and he was accepted as our client,” forensic polygraph investigator Antoinette Coetzer revealed to TshisaLIVE.

On August 16 Mongezi was acquitted of all charges levelled against him.  

After the acquittal, Mongezi plans to sue Lerato for defamation of character.

“As such, I am currently pursuing charges of slander, defamation of character as well as malicious prosecution and civil charges to cover total legal costs incurred and comprehensive loss of income suffered during this time, against Ms Moloi,”  he said in a statement shared with TshisaLIVE.