South African Woman Who Contracted HIV At 17 After An Affair With A Married Celebrity Is Using Her Story To Instruct Teenagers
A South African woman, identified as Lebo Motsumi, has shared the sad story of how she got infected with HIV after having an affair with a married celebrity.
In a series of posts shared on Twitter (now X), Lebo, who is now a HIV and teens coach, narrated how she met the celebrity at the club at the age of 17.
She said they began having unprotected sex unknown to her that he was HIV positive and was sleeping with her with the intention of infecting her with the virus.
Lebo, who has been living with the virus for 14 years, shared her story to encourage young people to avoid unprotected sex and encouraged them to get tested periodically.
It’s worth noting that the said celebrity, singer Tebogo Ndlovu better known as Zombo, passed away in February 2008, presumably from the deadly virus.
Read Lebo’s full post below,
“How I got infected with HIV.
I was 17, my friend and I went to a club to watch a performance by Chomee. During the performance, I spotted Tebogo Ndlovu (Zombo), and he was winking at me. He had lost a lot of weight.
Well, people lose weight, so It wasn’t a big deal. He approached me and asked for my numbers, and I gave them to him. We hugged, and he left the club.
So, growing up, I have always wanted to be famous, and I saw this as my ticket to fame. All I could think about were headlines in different newspapers, magazines, etc. “LEBO MOTSUMI PREGNANT WITH ZOMBOS CHILD” yeah that how desperate I was.
We spoke on the phone for a couple of days and planned to meet, he came to my house cause I was living alone at the time. We had unprotected sex and I really didn’t mind cause I had a plan.
Little did I know, he also had his own plan, which was to infect me with HIV on purpose. This relationship was not one built on love. I wanted fame, and he wanted to infect me.
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We had sex everywhere and anywhere, mostly in his white golf 1. I remember the wife would call me to leave him alone, did I listen? Nah, I was on a mission. To date, I feel she was warning me, but at the time, I didn’t really care. I wanted the fame.
Months later, he got ill and was admitted to Sunninghill Hospital and told me he had TB. I still made nothing out of it, and when he recovered, we continued having sex, I would even feed his drug addiction with my school fees money.
I eventually fell pregnant, and I was so excited. I called to inform him, and he denied the pregnancy. After some time at 6/7 months, I decided to have an abortion at a back street clinic. Went on with my life.
He then reached out and asked me to watch a music show on SABC1. I think it’s called “Liveamp” now. He appeared on the show sitting on a wheelchair. He then disclosed his HIV status and mentioned he went around spreading the virus cause he didn’t want to die alone.
Now you probably thinking the first thing I would do is test? Nope, I thought I was immune to getting infected with HIV, I just never associated myself with the virus.
How do I know he infected me? At 16, I was pregnant, and after giving birth to a premature baby (after trying to abort), I tested negative for HIV, and zombo was the next person I slept with after burial of my son.
HIV doesn’t have a face, and it can happen to anyone. Let’s start testing regularly with our partners. Get on prep, and use a condom consistently. An HIV infection is avoidable.”
See her tweet below,
How I got infected with HIV.
I was 17, my friend and I went to a club to watch a performance by Chomee. During the performance, I spotted Tebogo Ndlovu (Zombo), and he was winking at me. He had lost a lot of weight. #BeyondSilence #letstalk
— I'm Still Here! (@Motsumilebo) December 5, 2023