The River Actor Presley Chweneyagae Under Fire For Neglecting R58,800 Maintenance For His Son
South African actor Presley Chweneyagae, who is popularly known for his role in the popular TV series “The River,” is facing criticism for neglecting to pay a total of R58,800 in child maintenance for his son, who was born after the release of the film “Tsotsi” in 2005.
Alletta Somfula from Kempton Park in Johannesburg, spoke to ZiMoja, and revealed that Chweneyagae has been absent from his 17-year-old son’s life who is currently studying in Grade 10.
Chweneyagae was only 21 years old when he achieved fame for his role in the South African blockbuster “Tsotsi,”. She narrates:
“We met in 2005, and I got pregnant. I found out I was pregnant when he had gone to the US for the Oscars. When he came back, I told him I was pregnant. He even asked my uncles to alert his family that I was pregnant, but his mother denied the child.”
Alletta accepted her situation and moved on to single motherhood. Two years later, she went with Chweneyagae for paternity tests, which came out positive.
For Alletta, this was a good omen that the Tsotsi star would finally pay maintenance for his son, but it was not to be.
She is enraged:
“I hate him with a passion. I am a father and mother to his child. He is 16 years, and the pressure from peers is overwhelming. I thought when Presley asked for DNA, he was going to change, but he is still the same. What irritates me the most is the fact that he is taking care of his other two kids. I don’t want anything from him except for him to take responsibility for his son.”
As Chweneyagae’s son is getting older, his financial requirements are escalating, which is becoming too overwhelming for Alletta to handle.
She has five court orders against him for child support, but Chwneyakae won’t flinch.
As of now, his child support arrears amount to R58,800. Although Alletta and the Tsotsi actor are not on speaking terms, her only expectation is for Chweneyagae to fulfill his responsibilities towards their son.
“I am not a bitter baby mama, but I want what is best for my child. All he knows is to ask my parents for my child to visit him when I am not around and not buy him anything.”
ZiMoja attempted to obtain a statement from Presley Chweneyagae, but he refused to comment.
