On 2 February 2015, the Times of Johannesburg, South Africa, and other news outlets published an account from the African Eye News Service (AENS) about a 25-year-old
man named Humphrey Khoza who was reportedly attacked with battery acid by his 17-year-old girlfriend on
A South African Press Association (SAPA) account of the purported incident relayed the girl's self-described motivations for her actions:
"I never intended to kill his penis. I was just angry and all I wanted was to make him feel the pain I was feeling."
"I heard about the video from one of my classmates and I thought that they were joking, but then I saw the video myself and lost my mind."
She said Khoza had tricked her because she was not aware he was not using a condom or that he was filming them.
"I had to do something to show him that I was angry and wanted to hurt him so that he can see that he messed with the wrong girl," she said.
She searched in her father's tools for a wheel spanner she could use to teach Khoza a lesson.
"While I was searching I came across an old acid bottle. I took it and went straight to his regular drinking place and when I got there I became angrier. I didn't hesitate to pour the acid on him," she said.
The AENS report quoted Khoza as maintaining he "didn't know how [the sex tape] got onto social media" and he did not intend to press charges against the girl:
"Everything happened in a blink of an eye because I saw her when she was coming with a bottle but I didn't realise that she was carrying acid. She just angrily called me a dog. She asked how in the world I could have done such an evil thing to her. It was only then that I realised that she was talking about the video that I took while we were having sex.
"We agreed to have sex, but she was not aware that I was filming the sex using my laptop computer. I did not intend to show anyone the video and I still
don't know how it got onto social media.
"Even if I press charges it is useless because it won't bring back my manhood. Her being in jail will just ruin her future because she is still young and I do not have the energy to attend courts."
According to AENS, that news service has seen the video in question, and it appears to show a girl who "appeared not to notice that she was being filmed while they had sex." However, given the sensational nature of the report, that the girl is unnamed (ostensibly because she is underage), the lack of police involvement, and the absence of additional sources verifying the attack or the existence of the video, we remain skeptical about how much truth lies behind the story.
Last updated: 6 February 2015