SABC Livhu is flying high amidst bullying claims

Murder accused Livhuwani Madadzhe, commonly known as SABC Livhu, appears to be living a jet-set lifestyle, with regular visits to beaches and exotic restaurants. He even posted photos of himself at an airport on social media, claiming he was “running away like my ‘father’ Bushiri.”

However, the family members of Lindelani Ngovhela, his late wife, are not impressed and claim that he is “bullying” them emotionally.

Madadzhe is accused of murdering his wife, well-known as Mme a Muofhe, last year. Her body was found on 28 January, just outside their home, dumped in a water-filled pit toilet. The State believes she died of suffocation and was murdered.

A few hours after her death, Livhu was arrested and charged with the murder. He was released on 13 April last year after paying R50,000 bail.

Sylvia Nengovhela, the elder sister of the late Lindelani Nengovhela, claims that Livhuwani has been emotionally abusing them. In an interview, Sylvia said her problems had begun when she had been given temporary custody of Livhuwani and Lindelani’s two children, Mpho and Muofhe. She explained that Livhu is only allowed to have the children on special occasions such as birthdays, holidays, and during school breaks.

“At that time, Livhu was in prison, and it was decided that I should take care of my sister's children, and I cared for them as if they were mine. One day, not long after the funeral, I found Muofhe taking snacks from Mpho, who was crying. I warned Muofhe not to do that to her sister, but she continued. I tapped her lightly on the back and told her not to rejoice in her sister's tears and to protect her instead,” she said.

She said that when Livhu was released from prison, he asked her about the incident, and she explained what had happened. He agreed that Muofhe was wrong and needed to be disciplined. “I was surprised when I received a call from the Thohoyandou Police Station on 31 July, informing me that Livhu had opened an assault case against me. Because I work in Polokwane, I went to the station on 3 August and gave my statement. Livhu wanted me to spend a weekend in jail. This situation is affecting my parents deeply, as they are still trying to heal,” she added.

Sylvia said that ever since Livhu had been released from prison, he had been living as if nothing wrong had happened. “To him, life goes on as usual. Even if you check his social media posts, you can tell that he doesn't care. At one point he posted that, in December, he would be looking down on people who said he would go to jail in January. Imagine how that made us feel,” she said. She also believes that her sister was abused while the whole world watched.

Sylvia criticised Livhu for not encouraging his children to value education. “He always tells them that they will never be poor because he has a lot of businesses, and that they are the children of 'Mucaptain', instead of encouraging them to go to school,” she said.

She is also concerned that Livhu might be claiming insurance money for his deceased wife, even though he is the prime suspect in her death.

One of Sylvia’s concerns is that Livhu seems to spend a lot of time in Venda, which she believes is contrary to his bail conditions. “Every time he is in Venda, he takes pictures with the children and posts them later when he is gone. In every picture he posts, he makes sure his children are seen,” she said.

When Livhuwani was granted bail in April last year, there were strict conditions attached. He was instructed to relocate from his home to an address in Gauteng. He was also told not to interfere with any witnesses, whether he knows them or not, and he must report to the Sandton police station on Mondays and Fridays between 8:00 and 16:00 weekly.

Limpopo Mirror tried to reach his legal representatives for comment, but despite several days of attempts, they were not available.

Date:30 August 2024

By: Maanda Bele

Maanda  Bele, born and raised in Nzhelele Siloam, studied journalism at the Tshwane University of Technology. He is passionate about current news and international affairs. He worked as part of the Zoutnet team as an intern in 2017. He is currently a freelance journalist specialising in news from the Vhembe district.

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