Orlando Pirates star Thembinkosi Lorch has been found guilty of assaulting his former girlfriend Fundiswa Mathithibala.
The National Prosecuting Authority says that on September 7, 2020, Lorch was found guilty of assaulting Fundishwa Nokuphiwa Mathithibala, who was his girlfriend at the time.
He was found guilty of assault with the intent to do serious bodily harm by the court.
“The case relates to a complaint laid with the Midrand police by his girlfriend in September 2020, that resulted in his arrest and subsequent release on bail of R2,000,” said NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane in a statement.
“Fundiswa Nokuphiwa Mathithibala said she was visiting Lorch when he left her at his home to go out with his friend. Mathithibala saw that it was getting late and messaged him to return her car keys,” Mjonondwane added.
“On arrival, an argument ensued and Lorch became violent towards her and started to strangle her, beat her whilst pulling her up and down. She called for help and his friend came to her rescue.”
According to the National Prosecuting Authority, the medical evidence presented by Mathithibala supported her account of the events.
“The accused did not have any injuries which meant that he was the aggressor. The accused and his witness did not create a good impression in court and appeared to be not credible witnesses,” Mjonondwane added.
Lorch is now expected to appear in court on July 28 for sentencing.
The Buccaneers have since released the following statement on the matter:
Orlando Pirates Football Club notes the decision handed down by the Randburg Magistrate Court regarding Mr Thembinkosi Lorch on Tuesday.
As a Club we reiterate our stance against violence perpetrated against women and children and as a result when this matter came to light in 2020, the Club carried out its own investigation:
1. Following our internal investigations, the Club charged Mr Lorch with serious misconduct. He pleaded guilty to the charge and the Club imposed a sanction of a monetary fine and ordered him to undergo anger management therapy.
2. Mr Lorch also informed the Club that he had instructed attorneys to assist him with the criminal charges against him and they intended to approach the Director of Public Prosecutions (“DPP”) to make representations regarding the charges against him so that he could go through a diversion programme. He further advised that he was attending therapy with Dr. Nomsa Nkuna-Boikanyo as part of his rehabilitation. The Club approved that he completes therapy with Dr Nkuna-Boikanyo instead of running a parallel process organised by the Club.
3. Mr Lorch informed us that he attended the anger management therapy and completed the prescribed number of sessions. Since then, Mr Lorch has not been involved in any similar incident or an incident involving violence. We are confident that the anger management therapy was an appropriate corrective measure.
4. However, Mr Lorch’s representations to the DPP were not successful and the criminal proceedings continued. Today, 6 June 2023, Mr Lorch was found guilty of assault (gender-based violence) and will be sentenced in due course. We currently do not have the full details of the conviction or the sentencing date and have requested Mr Lorch to provide these details.
Orlando Pirates Football Club will not make any further comment until this process is complete.
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