“Struggling Influencer?”: Social Media Abuzz As Thabo Bester Victim’s Father Requests A Publishing Deal
Twitter users believe Batho Mpholo, the father of Thabo Bester’s victim Katlego Bereng, is trying to gain attention and profit from his son’s death by requesting a publishing deal after learning of the latter’s passing.
In several interviews, Mpholo disclosed that Bereng was raised by his mother and grandmother in the Free State, and he did not have contact with him until 2018 when Bereng was 28 years old.
After he announced his son’s death on Twitter on Saturday, 22 April, Mpholo also tweeted:
“I need somebody who can help me write a book. The title of it will be “The Gap”. My life has been full of gaps. Somebody please”.
Social Media Reacts
Below are some of the responses to the post.
@katli_mathule:
“Katlego Bereng’s deadbeat father likes the limelight okare (like) a struggling influencer”.
@JackiePhamotse:
“Iyoooo I have watched these interviews on Katlego’s family but the father takes the opportunistic cup! The man never went looking for his son, doesn’t even know his grandkids. He didn’t even know how to describe his son. But, he is the first to want money from the state”.
@fairnessbwb1:
“We’re just saying, for someone that abandoned the lady at 2 months pregnant and started connecting with mother and son recently, he said 2017/18 maybe he should let those who raised him, mom and Gran to be forward and he takes the back seat as always.”
@UncleMwitzz:
“I was one of the people who got defensive when this issue was first raised but after getting the full story. The Father is an opportunist. His Twitter timeline has never indicated at any point that he had a missing son. I pray for justice. He does not deserve to eat from the lawsuit.”
Katlego Bereng’s father mourns his son and asks for answers
Batho Mpholo recently spoke to News Room Afrika and expressed his frustration over the lack of information he has received from the authorities.
During an interview, Batho Mpholo revealed that he had only reunited with Katlego in 2018, after not seeing him since birth.
The grieving father also shared how Katlego had stopped communicating on social media last year.
After a month of not hearing from him, they contacted Katlego’s grandmother, with whom he was staying. However, she had not seen him for over a month either.
The family then reported his disappearance to the police.
When the police requested DNA samples from the family, they were informed that Katlego had been burnt in prison, despite not being an inmate, according to his father.
Batho Mpholo is now seeking answers as to how his son ended up at Mangaung prison.
