Abandoned mum-of-two pleads for divorce from UK-based husband
She was only 18 when she met the love of her life, or so she believed.
19 years later, that youthful romance has left Tebogo Mmile raising two children alone, while her estranged husband lives thousands of miles away in the UK.
For the teenage Tebogo, 25-year-old Busang Mmile was everything she dreamed of in a man: tall, dark, handsome and well-spoken, she couldn’t believe her luck when he asked her out in late 2006.
Within a year the romance fizzled out; however, by 2013, the couple found their way back into each other’s arms and on 6 December 2014, became husband and wife.
At the time of their marriage, Busang was unemployed and living with his parents in Serule, while Tebogo rented a single room in Gaborone, where she worked as a security officer.
“It didn’t matter that he was unemployed, or that the bride price was paid by his cousin,” she recalls, unable to resist a dig at her want-away lover.
Eventually, Busang moved into her rented room. He found work and the couple relocated to a bigger house.
Children followed in 2016 and 2018, completing what seemed like a picture-perfect family.
Sadly, it was only the calm before the storm.
In 2022, eight years into their marriage, Busang proposed relocating to the UK.
“He said he’d go first, and once settled, we’d join him,” Tebogo explains.
On 5th February 2022, she dropped him at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport and kissed him goodbye. It was the last time she saw him.
According to Tebogo, Busang’s first month in the UK was rough.
“Those who had promised him a place to stay failed to deliver. I had to pay for his accommodation in a hotel, even selling my car,” she says.
After finding work, he initially sent money home to help with rent and the children’s needs. However, after about four months, the support stopped.
“In the months that followed, I had to beg him for help. I was stuck in a house I couldn’t afford, in debt, and abandoned by my husband,” she cried.
Gradually he stopped taking her calls and eventually broke of contact altogether.
Still, Tebogo clung to hope that their marriage could be salvaged.
That hope was shattered when Busang appeared on the front page of The Voice in March 2024, embroiled in a paternity scandal.
In the article, titled ‘Who’s the Real Father?’, Busang and another man, identified as Babedi, both claimed paternity of a boy born to Neo George Legopelo in 2018 – the same year Tebogo had her second child!
In that interview, Busang described himself as a ‘recent divorcee,’ despite still being legally married to Tebogo.
Busang is quoted in the story saying he had been sleeping with Legopelo while he was married and even maintained the love child without his wife’s knowledge until he received a call from another man claiming to be the father of the child.
“That messed our plans to have Neo and the child relocate to the UK to join me since I am now divorced,” Mmile said at the time.
“That broke my heart,” Tebogo says.
“We are still legally married, but he refuses to cooperate so I can end this marriage.”
Explaining how her AWOL husband’s false claims of divorce have left her trapped, she adds, “I can’t do anything, not even take out a bank loan without his approval because we’re married in community of property. I can’t start another relationship, either. Legally, I’m still a married woman. I’m in bondage, chained by the shackles of marriage. I need help. I want to be set free.”
Tebogo is appealing to anyone to assist her with advertising her intention to divorce in British media as per the legal advice she’s received.
Unfortunately, The Voice experienced the same problems as Tebogo when trying to contact Busang for comment; despite several attempts, he could not be reached!
