'I want R10m to end divorce fight'

The pair are embroiled in a bruising separation battle, with Kayembe filing for divorce and Mbindwane insisting they were never legally married.

The high-profile fight is playing out in a flurry of letters between lawyers, with the laying of criminal charges with the police and even a row over missing cuff links and mismatched shoes.

In the latest twist Kayembe, famous for baring lots of skin in steamy underwear shoots, has claimed R10-million as a settlement from Mbindwane, the chief executive officer of Platfields, a precious metals exploration company.

According to a lawyer's letter, the model is willing to sweep their grievances under the carpet - for a hefty price.

Mbindwane, who is based in Vredehoek, on the slopes of Table Mountain, has meanwhile applied to have Kayembe evicted from the Sandhurst home they once shared in Johannesburg.

And, according to his attorney, David Khan, the model would not be getting a cent. "We're not going to concede R10-million or R10." He also rubbished Kayembe's claim that the Johannesburg property was a "communal home". Khan said the house belonged to "a company" and Kayembe was not entitled to stay there.

The model ditched her trademark bathing costume for a blue traditional dress in a customary marriage to Mbindwane on September 27 2008. She said the businessman slipped a ring on her finger at the ceremony, and that he paid lobola.

The civil ceremony was postponed after they learned that Kayembe was pregnant, and because they were having problems.

She filed for divorce in October, but Mbindwane insisted they were never married in terms of civil law.

Kayembe is opposing the eviction from the house in Sandhurst, and the contents of the house are also being contested.

While Kayembe's attorney, Nalini Maharaj, insisted that all of Mbindwane's belongings had been removed from the house, Khan said his client was missing a watch or two and cuff links, and that Kayembe was barring him from retrieving them.

Maharaj said: "Our client packed and boxed everything, including (Mbindwane's) toiletries and clothing, and left all the items at security."

But Khan disagreed: "Not all of his personal belongings were forthcoming. She put four boxes with Bongani's possessions at the property's security gate. But he left a watch or two in the house, which is still missing, his cuff links are missing too, and she sent him a mismatched pair of shoes," he said.

During their battles, Kayembe has laid a charge of assault against the businessman, while he has accused her of killing their unborn baby because she terminated her pregnancy after the first trimester.

In the latest development in the struggle, the beauty has suggested the R10-million settlement.

In a letter to Mbindwane, Kayembe's lawyer said: "We wish to point out that, in motivation of the said sum, the parties met and began dating in Cape Town in 2003. The parties eventually got married in 2008.

"We further wish to point out that it is (Mbindwane who) specifically instructed (Kayembe) to stop working, abandon her modelling career to start a family."

But Khan hit back, saying Kayembe never stopped working; recalling a multi-page FHM photographic shoot she did last year.

Kayembe, who was born in Lubumbashi, Congo, and starred in Ludacris's video for Pimpin' all Over the World, is not resting on her laurels.

She will feature as a judge alongside former Miss South Africa, Claudia Henkel, and TV presenter Shashi Naidoo, on the World Face of Fashion modelling competition which was launched in Johannesburg last Friday.

She also regularly dazzles onlookers in designer frocks at red-carpet events; and was spotted at the pre-launch party of TV station Trace Sports at the swish Mibar in Rosebank earlier this month.

Both attorneys hope that a date for a divorce hearing would be scheduled for early next year.