The National Prosecuting Authority has apologized to actress and TV producer Sonia Mbele for mentioning her in a media statement pertaining to her son’s rape case.
This comes after Donell Mbele’s court appearance on Monday, where the NPA released a statement on their official social media platforms titled “Renowned actress’s son appears in court for raping his girlfriend”.
The NPA received immense backlash online for dragging Mbele into the statement, yet it was her son who had appeared, and the matter had nothing to do with the mother.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the NPA formally retracted and deleted the original statement.
“In keeping with our core values of justice, accountability and transparency. We acknowledge that the manner in which the statement was crafted does not align with our high standards of professionalism and integrity. It reflected poor judgement that was unfortunately allowed to slip through the standard quality control measures to which we subject our media statements.
“We sincerely and unreservedly apologise for any harm or distress caused, particularly to the mother indirectly referred to in the statement, and to all members of the public in general.
On Monday, Donell, who is Sonia’s son, appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court. He is currently facing two counts of rape for alleged rape incidents which took place in December 2024.
The 23-year-old was granted R1,000 bail.
NPA spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwana said the charges emanate from a complaint registered with Sandton South African Police Service (SAPS) by his 17-year-old girlfriend who alleges that Mbele raped her on December 14 and 15, 2024, at his place of residence in Morningside.
Mjonondwana said the girlfriend said in her complaint that she had been out on a date with Mbele at Clear Water Mall on December 14 when the alleged incident happened.
IOL Entertainment