Akhonamathemba “Sweet Guluva” Mbele and Ashley Ogle’s romance captivated Big Brother Mzansi fans on screen, but no one could have predicted their split would still have their cult following glued to their timelines to get the tea on their messy affair, which has been laced with accusations and paternity disputes.
The couple, who met during the season 5 competition, had a very public relationship, even gathering the nickname “SweetAsh”. However, things took a sour turn after their breakup, with Ashley revealing Sweet Guluva ended things, citing work commitments.
After Ashley recently introduced her newborn baby, Kenzo-Lushe, social media has speculated whether Sweet Guluva is the father of her baby.
In addressing the rumours of the child, Sweet Guluva claimed he has been making efforts privately with Ashley to meet her family to speak about damages, in accordance with Zulu culture.
Sweet Guluva said he wants a paternity test.
“During these interactions with Ms Ogle, it was made clear by Sweet Guluva that he wants to be involved in the child’s life. To date, Sweet Guluva has neither met nor seen this child in person, as Ms Ogle is refusing to accede to the request,” a statement said.
I have gone to hell and back throughout my pregnancy while enduring all the public bullying from his fans and some of his friends ... Since he is now suddenly unsure of the paternity of my son, I have nothing further to discuss with him
— Ashley Ogle
“Until Ms Ogle allows Sweet Guluva and his family to meet the child in person and be permitted to do a paternity test, it would be irresponsible of Sweet Guluva at this stage to confirm or deny that he is the father of Ms Ogle’s child.
“As the unfounded public narrative continues to develop without verified facts and Sweet Guluva’s genuine efforts to establish the identity of and meet the child having not yielded positive results, we have instructed our legal representatives to intervene by addressing correspondence to Ms Ogle to humbly request that she allow Sweet Guluva and his family to meet the child in person and for paternity tests to be undertaken to establish if Sweet Guluva is the father of Ms Ogle’s child.
“We assure fellow South Africans, especially the fans of Sweet Guluva, that he is a responsible man that has never — and would never — run away from his responsibilities."
While Sweet Guluva claimed his previous attempts to resolve the matter are well documented with his legal team, Ashley issued a statement rejecting that the Big Brother season 5 winner had made attempts to contact her to gain access to her son.
“I cannot deny access to someone that has made no attempt to be part of the pregnancy or the birth of my son,” she said.
“The last contact I had with Akhonamathemba Zwane was after the birth of my son, and the only thing he wanted to know was if he was registered on the birth certificate, to which I responded, ‘No, I didn’t register you, as you were not present.’ And he requested to meet in a public space, which I was not comfortable with, having just given birth. Last, since he mentioned the ‘Zulu culture’, my parents have been disrespected throughout the whole process of my pregnancy, as proper procedure was not followed.”
Ashley said she would engage on this matter through her legal representatives because of the weight of the issue.
“I have gone to hell and back throughout my pregnancy while enduring all the public bullying from his fans and some of his friends — public humiliation, voice notes (questioning the same pregnancy), defamatory remarks, judging me about my mental health at his family gatherings, and sharing my private life with former housemates, his family, his friends and his fans.
“Since he is now suddenly unsure of the paternity of my son, I have nothing further to discuss with him. I will not be commenting on this any further; all further communication between Akhonamathemba Zwane and myself will be done through my legal [representatives].”
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