Lebo M disputes Robert Marawa’s claims about him in his book
Grammy-winning producer Lebo M has issued a sharp rebuttal to veteran sports broadcaster Robert Marawa, accusing him of publishing misleading and defamatory statements in his 2022 book, Gqim Shelele: The Robert Marawa Story.
Released in October 2022, the biography details Marawa’s personal and professional life.
However, Lebo M, whose real name is Lebohang Morake, insists that several claims made about him in the book are “demonstrably false” and have prompted legal action.
In particular, Marawa’s book alleges that during maintenance proceedings involving actress Zoe Mthiyane, Lebo M “took the stand to give evidence about what share of the DStv [Marawa’s son] Awande was using and the cost of the garden service and the nanny,” adding that the legal bid to justify R35,000 in expenses failed and that “they lost the case with costs.”
Lebo M strongly disputes this account, saying the official court record tells a different story.
“Contrary to the assertions made in Marawa’s publication, the judgment of the magistrate’s court for the district of Attridgeville, which is a matter of public record, does not support the claim that Zoe Mthiyane ‘lost the case with costs’,” he said.
According to Lebo M, the court ordered Marawa to pay monthly maintenance covering Awande’s lodging, schooling, groceries, clothing, and transport.
He further challenged Marawa’s framing of his role as a father, questioning the broadcaster’s narrative around absence and accountability.
“Marawa would have the public believe that assertions relating to his absence as a father are recent fabrications. Yet the question remains: why did Zoe Mthiyane institute legal proceedings against Marawa at the time during the period in which her son was under the care, support and presence of Lebo Morake if there was no dereliction of paternal responsibility?” Lebo M said.
Addressing suggestions that his response is merely for attention, he added: “The statements published about Morake in Marawa’s biography are not only misleading but demonstrably false, and any attempt to now reframe legitimate accountability as ‘attention-seeking’ is intellectually dishonest and legally precarious. Protecting one’s name, reputation, and lived truth is not theatrics; it is principle.”
Lebo M confirmed he has instructed his legal team to pursue formal legal recourse, aiming to correct the public record and hold those responsible accountable.
“We trust that moving forward, this matter will be engaged with where it properly belongs in a court of law, where facts, not biographies, carry evidentiary weight,” he concluded.
At the time of Lebo M’s statement, Marawa had not publicly responded.