Zandie Khumalo defends Jub Jub amid ongoing custody dispute with sister Kelly Khumalo

Singer Zandie Khumalo-Gumede, sister of award-winning singer and reality star Kelly Khumalo, has defended “Uyajola9/9” presenter and musician Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye, following claims that Kelly has continued to deny him access to their son, Christian.

Maarohanye took to Instagram on November 2 for a “public announcement”, addressing Kelly directly after she spoke about him on podcasts, accusing him of not supporting their child.

In a series of videos, he said Kelly’s claims were false and that she should stop painting him in a bad light. He also said he wants to be involved in Christian’s life.

“I’ve been looking at a lot of social media posts and comments about what the mother of my child has been saying about me. I don’t understand what exactly you’re trying to do, but firstly, I want to thank you for raising my boy when I couldn’t, while I was locked up,” he said.

Maarohanye asked that Kelly stop calling him a deadbeat father.

“Don’t lie about me and assassinate my character. Stop saying that when you look at the boy, he reminds you of me, so you look at him with anger,” he said.

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He added that although he has thought about taking the legal route to be part of his son’s life, he doesn’t want Christian to go through that.

He said he has tried to involve the family in hopes that they could convince Kelly to let him see his son, but nothing has worked.

“Don’t say I’m a deadbeat dad, then go to podcasts and talk about me to trend. Don’t do that. I’ve wanted to pay damages and do the right thing, but you’ve been shutting me out,” he said.

Following his video, Kelly’s sister Zandie supported parts of Maarohanye’s statement.

Speaking to “Sunday World”, she acknowledged that the conflict has been ongoing but said it is a matter between Kelly and Maarohanye, not something that involves the rest of the family.

“Normally, I wouldn’t comment on this, but because it concerns Christian, I feel compelled to speak,” she said. “I care about my nephew deeply and treat him as my child. When it comes to him, no one can tell me what to do.”

Zandie confirmed that Maarohanye has made several attempts to reconnect with his son, including reaching out to her and their mother for mediation.

“At one point, my mother and I were mediating discussions, but nothing came of it,” she said. “Molemo also wanted to come and pay damages at home. He even spoke to my husband, who then spoke to my mother. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out because there was no cooperation on our side.”

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She added that both Kelly and Maarohanye have unresolved issues, which are clear from their public disagreements.

“I don’t want to get into details, but Molemo has genuinely been trying and keeps getting rejected. I’ve spoken to Christian about his father, and it’s clear he wants to see him, but I can’t take him there without his mother’s permission.

“Both Molemo and Kelly are at fault. They’ve hurt each other deeply and need to resolve their issues before they can co-parent properly,” she said.

Maarohanye’s comments came after Kelly called out the fathers of her children during her interview on “The L-Tido Podcast” in October.

Kelly said she has had to raise her children without support from their fathers.

“I have never received any support, even financially,” she said. “They are all useless – well, except for one, Senzo Meyiwa. If he were here, trust me, he would have been hands-on and responsible.”

Kelly, who has three children with different partners, said the late Bafana Bafana goalkeeper was different.

She described Meyiwa as a present and responsible parent before he died in 2014.