Nadia Jaftha says she will not be silenced amid brother-drama
MEDIA personality Nadia Jaftha has opened up about the latest social media saga involving her family.
The 31-year-old stated in a two-part Instagram video, that she had no relationship with her brother Taariq Jaftha, who was recently accused of kidnapping his wife Allesha also known as Danica.
The Jaftha family were caught in a social media brawl in February when Allesha’s family reported her missing, and claimed that she was being abused by Taariq.
Dale Patience, a relative of the allegedly abused woman, went live on Instagram, and pleaded with Nadia and her family to help locate Allesha.
Patience explained that his sister had been planning to run away from Taariq, something they heard from a friend as Allesha herself she did not communicate this to them.
Thousands of followers called out Nadia for her family’s drama resulting in her releasing a written statement which she later deleted.
Two weeks later, Nadia has broken her silence and distanced herself from her family’s ‘toxic’ behaviour.
The social media influencer said: “I know that I've been quiet and I've honestly just been processing and trying to navigate through all of this because as you guys were discovering new information and seeing videos and just being exposed to more, so was I.
“It has come to a point for me where I can't keep quiet, I’m not gonna be silenced.
“I've always been open about my mental health I've always been open about the fact that I struggle with my mental health and when all of this happened; the first thing that I needed to do was honestly make sure that I wake up every morning.”
She explained that she was triggered by the situation and cleared the air saying she had no relationship with her brother.
“I can't even remember the last time I saw him in person, my mother knows exactly how I feel about him. I've not been shy about how I feel about my brother in general.”
An emotional Nadia, told followers: “My mother is blinded to the fact that my brother needs professional help. It's clear that he needs professional help. I have my own personal experiences with him.”
Followers encouraged Nadia to speak out and heal from the trauma endured. Others commended her for her bravery of speaking out against her brother.
Directed at her brother, Nadia said: “I'm done feeling scared, bullied. I'm making this video because it's no secret how I feel about you and me making this video is actually my personal freedom away from you and I can only hope that me doing this; encourages other people to do the same.
“Throughout all of this, I'm realising so much and I'm seeing so much it's like a veil has been lifted. And I'm like, What the heck? How do you guys not see what you're doing?.
“People aren't asking for much, they're just asking for basic human decency. I'm tired being the punching bag.
“As I'm sitting me I honestly feel numb. I feel numb and that's concerning. So I'm going to do what I can to fill my cup.”
Cape Argus